The Dragon Chronicles Omake Theater
by Hitoshirezu Ryu
Summary: How to celebrate special occasions.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. Plot and OCs belongs to Volleys-chan and I.**

* * *

_March 9 - Pastime_

* * *

It started out like his usual days, sailing upon his small Coffin Boat. The waves were calm and lazy, much like he was feeling at this moment as he was waiting to get to his destination. He had been dozing on and off thus far, not able to do much swordplay upon such a small vessel, but he was hoping that would not be the case for long. He had plans for today and he would be very upset if he could not follow through with them merely because he could not locate what he was searching for. He closed his eyes, focusing his haki to sense the area around him, searching for that one, familiar presence of which he was searching.

He smirked when he sensed her, honing in on her so that he could figure out how far away she was from him. His smirk widened when he realized she wasn't too far off at all and was unaware that he was even seeking her to quell his need for entertainment. Since Shanks had lost his left arm, he had no one to amuse himself with until recently. This woman was his plaything and currently his sole source of entertainment upon the vast ocean. He enjoyed playing with her, watching how easily he could frustrate, fluster, and pester her.

Outside of battle, she wore her heart on her sleeve, but the moment she drew her blades, her expression would turn to a serious, nearly unreadable one. Her eyes were calculative as she watched her opponent's every movement so she could plan her attacks and counter-attacks accordingly. She was talented in her swordplay as she always seemed to be improving and he surmised that she might actually be a threat to his title in a few years (decade) or so.

Currently, she was the only person he found interesting enough to willingly cross swords with. It wasn't so much her strength that made her interesting to fight, it was her sword style. He had never seen someone so young so rehearsed as she was in her katas. She knew each position and how to properly implement them in the heat of the moment. While most swordsmen he met would deviate from their katas and went with the flow of the moment, her sword style heavily relied on her knowing her forms flawlessly and though she did improvise, it always reflected those forms that were so deeply ingrained into her muscle memory.

He was pulled out of his musings about her when he heard the sloshing of waves up against another ship. He peeked open an eye, pushing the bill of his hat up as he did to take in the caravel boat before him with the magnificent and greatly stylized red dragon head as the figurehead. It was currently anchored since the sole occupant of the ship was busy with other things inside the vessel to pay much attention to sailing.

_This day will be quite enjoyable after all_, he thought to himself as he effortlessly jumped from his smaller ship to her ship's spacious deck where countless spars between the two of them had taken place.

Mihawk, whom of which was about to look around for female associate, suddenly was distracted from his original task. His eyes danced with mischief as he made a bee line for the laundry line that was currently out, drying an assortment of woman's clothing. Naturally, he gravitated towards the panties that were clothes-pinned to the white rope line. He 'hmm'ed as he studied the different colors of the undergarments, taking in that she wore dark or dull colors, like black, navy, maroon, and even a dull lavender. He had always pegged her for the type that wore white cotton panties.

Now Mihawk wasn't a pervert, but he used every chance he got to fluster his little female toy, reveling in the way she always got mad or actually had the gall to lecture him. Only his family had ever dared to scold him (and only as a child), so he found it comical when a girl easily half his age thought she could actually scold him for doing whatever he well pleased, knowing somewhere in the back of her mind that in the end, he'd just do it again to bother her.

He had been ready to take a pair, if only to lord it over her later, when he heard the familiar tone of his little plaything.

"MIHAWK!" She squealed, her tone pitching in mortification. "What are you doing with my _underwear_!"

Mihawk turned his head to see the young woman, laundry basket in her arms, marching towards him with a indignant blush, as she quickly swiped her undergarments and hurriedly put them safely within her basket. Once she was sure her undergarments (and her dignity as a woman) were safe, she gave him a fierce scowl, telling him with her eyes to explain his reasons for even attempting to _touch_ her panties.

He wasn't fazed at all by her behavior, inwardly he was pleased by her reaction, but he didn't let his satisfaction show on his face. He kept a nonchalant attitude as he told her a blatant lie. "I was merely curious about the texture of the material."

"Liar!" She accused him, eyes narrowing as she fumed even more. "I saw the way you were looking at them! You were ready to _take_ them!"

Mihawk wasn't fazed at all by her accusing glare, he merely rose a brow, smirking slightly as he denied the thought had even passed his mind. "Now, Rei, what would I do with a pair of your undergarments?"

Rei looked slightly mortified as she fought off the chill that ran down her spine. She looked slightly ill as she muttered, "I really don't want to know actually."

He had to repress the urge to laugh at her amusing antics, pleased to get such an interesting reaction from his little toy with such a simple question. He watched her shake her head, as if casting away thoughts that had no right to dwell inside her mind and turned her marvelous ruby gaze back onto him.

"So, besides trying to steal a pair of my underwear, what are you doing here Mihawk?" Rei huffed, proceeding to take her laundry off the line and put neatly into her basket as she talked with him.

"Can I not visit a friend when I find I have the time to?"

Mihawk smirked when he noticed a vein bulge of her forehead as she clamped her teeth together, her annoyance with him taken up yet another level.

"You were just here a few _days_ ago." She managed to say through her clenched teeth, her fist -that was gripping a now very wrinkled shirt- shook with her irritation.

He merely shrugged. "It came to my notice that my schedule was open. I figured I should do something to occupy my time till I have matters to attend to."

The look on her face told her that she didn't believe him one bit. "Matters to attend to?" She repeated in disbelief. "You don't have 'matters to attend to'. You don't work!"

"Ah, but that doesn't mean there are not things that need my attention. I am, in a way, self-employed."

"Just because people call you the 'World's Greatest Swordsman' doesn't mean you get to treat it like a job occupation, you pervy vagabond!" Rei snapped, finished taking her clothes down and stormed into the interior of her boat to set the basket down inside.

"Such wounding words, Rei. Is that anyway to speak to a friend?" Mihawk asked, a taunting look on his face as he placed his hand over his heart in a wounded gesture.

"A friend? No. You? Yes." Rei said sharply as she came back outside from putting her laundry basket safely inside and away from the would-be panty thief.

"Come now, I am the sole being of which you constantly associate with upon your journeys through Paradise. I believe that allows me the privilege to be labeled as a friend." He smoothly told her, watching her with his golden stare to see what she would say or do in retort.

"Fine." She snapped with a sour look, crossing her arms as she came to stand before him once more. "Now, _friend_, why are you here?"

"To play with you, of course," Mihawk answered her simply.

Rei always hated it when he called their spars 'playtime' or anything of the like. Probably because she hated knowing that to him, it was really all one big game. She was his toy, the sole object of his entertainment, and what he used to pass the time away. He could break her so easily, like a cat with a mouse, and yet he chose to be gentle, if only to prolong his enjoyment.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was probably concerned about what would happen when she ceased to bring him amusement, but he already knew that _if_ that time ever did come, she would be alright. He took care of this things- his guilty pleasures- and even if one day his attention was turned to something else, he would treat her well for all her devotion to keeping him from being bored- just like Red Haired Shanks.

Though... maybe a little bit better than Shanks. He actually liked Rei well enough. Shanks, well, he could stomach him for a time. And only for a small time. There were things that he could never forgive Shanks for, even is some of them were beyond the red head's control.

"Alright," Rei sighed, giving into the fact that she was just going to have to fight him whenever he well pleased. "Let me put my things away first and then we can start."

He nodded, watching her for a time before deciding to put the plan he had thought of earlier that day into action. "Perhaps, if just sparring has become too mundane of a commodity for you, we can make things a bit more interesting."

"How so," Rei asked him skeptically. Her eyes were staring at him in a calculative manner and she was on the defense, trying to figure out what it was that he was planning in that devious mind of his.

"A wager, of course. I name something I would like when I win and you name something that you'd like _if_ you _could_ win."

Rei narrowed her eyes as she pursed her lips together lightly. She didn't miss how he had worded that sentence. Both of them knew that he would win and she could only dream of beating him in this stage of her development as a swordswoman.

"So what you're saying is, is that you want something from me and instead of petitioning for it like a normal person, you'd rather force me into it by making it the spoils of a impossible wager." Rei reiterated for him in a deadpan tone.

"Where's the fun in simply asking? At least this way, you have the slight- ever so slight- chance of winning and getting whatever your heart desires from me instead."

She shift her weight all to one leg, arms still crossed as she gave a thoughtful expression. Her lips slightly pursed as she thought about the proposition. Though both knew she had hardly any chance of winning, there was still that small, very _minute_ chance that she might actually come out on top. Now she was weighing the risks vs the rewards of even wagering against him. Mihawk had to suppress the sinister like smirk that threatened to take over his face when her eyes, which had been staring off in thought, met his once more with a determined look.

"If I win, I want your hat." She finally told him.

Though pleased that she was consenting to the wager, he couldn't help but grab the brim of his hat and adjust it in response.

"This is one of a kind." He told her truthfully, hoping she'd catch on that he'd rather not wager it.

She was unfazed by his subtle hint, either completely unaware of what he was trying to tell her without words or simply because she could care less if he had a fondness of his hat.

"All the more reason to try and win it." She smirked haughtily at how she had raised a reaction out of him from his usual stoic expressions. "Is that an appropriate wager upon my end?"

Mihawk stood there quietly for a while, thinking upon whether or not he'd risk his hat. He was not willing to part with the hat, that was for sure. There were many memories connected to his hat. However, Rei stood little chance in winning, especially if he did not hold back like usual, so he knew his hat would be safe to wager. Nonetheless, the threat upon his hat was not well received.

"I suppose it is," he relented, nodding hesitantly as he let go of his hat's brim. "_If_ you could win, I suppose my hat would be an appropriate trophy."

"I _am_ going to win." She said with a strong determination.

"We will see." Mihawk simply replied. "However, we have yet to decide what would my prize would be if I am the one who is victorious in this affair."

Rei scowled at him, eyes narrowing into slits as she gave her response. "I swear Mihawk, if your idea of a trophy is my underwear, I'll-"

"I promise you, it is not." Mihawk interrupted her with his assurance.

This time anyways. He would have to remember that for future wages if she ever was daring enough to wager against him again.

"Alright," she relaxed after hearing that. "Then what do _you_ want if you win."

"_When_ I win, Rei." He corrected for her with a conceited smirk. "When I win, I would like you to accompany me on a date. There is an island not to far from here that I would quite enjoy taking you to."

That had thrown her off-guard. She stared at him with wide eyes, all her defenses had dropped as she stared at him blankly. She blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just said and if she had somehow misheard him. Upon realizing she had not misheard him, her face flushed furiously, if only for a few minutes, as she was instantly on guard once more.

"A _date_!" She squeaked in bewilderment. "You want me to be your _date_? Why!?"

"My reasons are not apart of the arrangement, thus I do not have to tell them to you." Mihawk smirked, pleased with her reaction. "Will you acquiesce to such terms?"

"Fine. _If _you win, I'll be your stupid date for the day." Rei huffed, her displeasure evident in her sour expression. "But let me clean up the deck a bit first so you don't hack anything I might actually like into shreds."

"_When_ I win." He corrected for her as he strode over to the mast and leaned against it, waiting for her to finish her activities.

He could see her desire to win as she cleaned up her deck and fetched her katanas. He remembered they were one of the reasons why, when they had first met and dueled, that he had decided to make her his pass time. They were some of the finest crafted blades he had seen outside of the known twelve _Saijō Ō Wazamono_. Her blades were called 'Ryu Chuushin', a crimson blade, and 'Ryu Dokyou', a teal blade. The amount of detail put into the two blades was amazing and from what he could tell, they were not stained the colors they were, it was completely natural.

When he had asked of their origin- the name of the sword smith that had crafted them- she had given the name of her father. He figured that her father had perhaps finished the katanas for her, but the true master responsible for shaping the blades into being was someone else, someone whom she did not wish to name. He could tell that there had been two smiths by the style the sheath, guard, and hilt had been designed, however similar the two styles happened to look. Her father was very talented if he could copy someone else's signature style, that much he had to admit. Her father was no doubt talented sword smith, a talented swordsman, and a talented teacher.

"Okay, I'm ready." Rei pulled him from his musings when she emerged from the door of her boat's cabin with her sheathed swords hanging at her hip by their holster.

He nodded, pulling Yoru out of its sheath, and got into his opening position as he watched her do the same with both her blades. "Then let us begin our duel. I do hope you dress up prettily for our upcoming date, Rei."

"I hope your hat will look good on my head, it'd be a shame if it doesn't suit me since I'll forever parade around in it." Rei retorted, a confident look crossing her face.

There was a moment of silence within the world, all the noise of the ocean and the creaking of the boat disappeared as the two of them hyper-focused their attention upon each other. They both were waiting for the other to make the first move, anything really, even the slightest twitch, change in the facial expression, or even the skip of a heart beat.

He was the first to move, and she complimented his attack perfectly with her own strike. Using her swords, she redirected the flow of brutal energy from his attack on her to elsewhere. That was how her style worked. She took the strength of her enemy and either redirected their attack away from her or used it against them. She had very few purely offensive attacks, most of them were defensive, where she would redirect the attack to either to her adversary or to an vacant section of their sparring space where she then proceeded to engage her counterattack upon their person. Though she was extremely strong, especially for a woman, there would always be men much stronger out there than her, like him, and that was the brilliance of her sword style. Why bother trying to overpower the enemy when one can use their own strength against them? That was the basic principal behind her style entirely.

Their dance of blades played out for a long while. Though Mihawk was much harsher in his fighting this time around, he was impressed that Rei managed to keep up for as long as she did. However, he noticed that she was beginning to tire. Her form was still in superb shape, but she herself was growing weary from the continual onslaught that he was pushing upon her. Her arms were shaking slightly from how tired she was beginning to feel, but she left no easy openings upon her person, like always. Her style was too ingrained into her very being to allow her to even subconsciously leave herself open to an attack. If he was to finish this anytime soon, he would have to create an opening by overpowering her and her form.

Channeling haki through his blade, he forced both of hers out of her grip, shocking her entirely, before kicking her in the chest, knocking her off her feet, and swinging Yoru at her throat. He stopped short of actually cutting into the delicate flesh of her neck by a fraction of second.

"I win once more." He stated with a wide smirk. He pulled his weapon away from her neck and put Yoru back into its sheath.

Rei panted heavily, trying to catch her breath from her most intense session with Mihawk yet. Her arms were still shaking from the strain of having to hold up against his brutal hits and redirecting the movement of that massive amount of energy elsewhere. He was slightly surprised that her boat wasn't in ruins, but then again, Rei always put in the extra effort in aiming the energy into the open sky rather then the fragile wooden planks of her boat.

"Nooo~!" Rei whined once she was able to catch her breath. She was still sitting where she had landed after receiving the kick to the sternum, her arms limp as she still panted from her exertion. "I was really hoping to win!"

"Perhaps in a few years you might have the occasional victory." Mihawk remarked, glancing at the position the sun was in and comparing it to where it had been before they had started. "It would appear that you were able to last for a solid two hours."

Though Rei seemed enthralled at the idea that she had lasted as long as she did, her excitement dwindled when she remembered, "I have to go on a _date_ with you now... Damn it."

"Did you really expect to win?" Mihawk rose a brow at her reaction. He knew that she would not be entirely enthusiastic to go on a date with him, one of the reasons why he even wanted to take her out on one, but she was acting as if it was a death sentence.

"Hey, I can dream, can't I?" Rei sighed, looking up at him with a playful but scolding look. "Plus, who would really wants to spend time with a pervy vagabond like _you_?"

"Many women, of course. I am, in fact, a shichibukai and that makes me desirable as a potential mate to many females."

"Well then, can't you ask one of _them_ to be your date for tonight?" Rei said spitefully, not appreciating what he had just pointed out to her.

"None of them have proven themselves worthy, though some have tried greatly to do so. In the end, they are all disappointments." Mihawk told with a nonchalant manner. He paused, gauging her apprehension of what he told her. "Now, go get ready for our date. I will steer the ship to our destination until you are ready."

Rei nodded reluctantly, pouting slightly as she gathered her fallen blades and checking their condition before putting them back into their sheaths. Mihawk was already double checking to make sure his smaller vessel was tied securely to the larger ship before heading off to steer the boat to its new destination.

Perhaps Rei hadn't expected him to hear it, but he managed to catch what she grumbled under her breath as she made her way inside and into her room to get ready.

"I _was_ really hoping to get his hat..."

Now Mihawk knew that she would never, ever get his hat. He would simple not let go of his precious hat. It was one of the few things in this world that actually meant anything to him, Yoru and even his coffin boat were two other items that meant something to him, but he figured he could come up with a good solution since she wanted a hat like his so badly. He could easily add that into his itinerary for tonight.

* * *

Mihawk had to wait a whole hour and a half on Rei. Now normally, he was a greatly patient man, but he was slightly impatient today because this would be the first time Rei had ever dressed up since he had met her. She usually wore simple tee shirts and jeans or sweats, not bothering with make-up or even doing her hair, which was always in a ponytail or a messy bun when she needed it up and out of the way fast. She was beautiful, he was not blind to her natural beauty just because he was not attracted to her physically. So he was very interested in what she looked like when she put in the effort to look nice.

He himself had brought an extra change of clothes so that he wouldn't look so conspicuous and draw unwarranted attention upon him and his date. It wouldn't do if he had to deal with some simpleton swordsman trying to pick a fight with him on his night off. He was rather fast at changing, not that he cared if Rei saw him changing on her deck, but she'd be rather angry for some irrational reason and it wouldn't do since he wanted her in a relatively good mood.

He heard her coming down onto the deck before he saw her. She hadn't seen him yet either and he was interested in what her reaction would be to his change of attire. Knowing his little toy, it was to be quite entertaining.

"Well," Rei drawled as she gave a quick spin on the ball of her foot, showing him what she had decided to wear, "I'm ready."

She was wearing a black kimono decorated with a design of white lotuses and falling pink petals, tied closed by an white obi. Her hair was twisted into an nice bun, a clip that had white ribbons tangled within its teeth that trailed down her back instead of her long ebony hair that was now tied up. Some basic make-up had been put on but not too much, not that she needed too much, just enough to amply her eyes and lips.

"A kimono, hm?" He said, admiring how fitting it looked upon her. The colors of the outfit really drew out the color within her eyes, enhancing their already striking pigment.

She was about to reply, turning to face him as she spoke, but was suddenly found at a loss of words as she stared at him. He frowned, befuddled at her sudden dumbfounded expression as she continued to stare at him. He was about to ask her if there was something the matter with his attire, but she had suddenly closed the distance between them and began to stare solely at his selected clothing for the night.

"You're wearing a shirt," she said in astonishment.

Before Mihawk could give his retort to her obvious observation she began to run her palms up and down his clothed chest, still too mystified by the revelation that he, in fact, owned shirts and knew how to wear them. She didn't even seem to realize what she was doing, too absorbed in her shock.

He smirked as he looked down at her face, willing her eyes to look into his. She seemed to sense his unspoken request and her ruby eyes met his sharp, golden ones. He let his lips fall into a dark smile as his eyes danced with promises that he would _never_ let her forget this.

"Is there a reason you feel it is necessary to grope my chest, Rei?" He asked in a deep tone, his amusement evident in his expression and tone.

Rei immediately ripped away from him, her face flushing a new shade of red as she shook her head vehemently. He actually had to withhold the bark of laughter that wanted to erupt from his throat, less he lose his cool and aloof image.

"No!" She finally managed to say. "I was just... you _never_ wear a shirt! It just caught me by surprise is all!"

"So you had to confirm what you were seeing by rubbing your hands up and down my person?" He questioned her, his lips almost pulling into a humorous smile as he teased her happily.

His little toy was always so much fun. He would never tire of her. Never. He almost felt sorry for the fool that would one day come into her life and attempt to court her.

If anyone thought for one second that he'd just let her go, they were sorely mistaken. She was _his_ play thing and even if _he_ allowed some man into her life, because she was in _love_ with the man, _he'd_ never let him fully take her away from _him_. _He_ will always be apart of her life. That was that. If anyone decided anything different, he_ and _Yoru would need to have a serious conversation with the dullard. Chances at surviving this conversation would be alarmingly low for the other man.

"So where are we going anyways?"

Mihawk snapped out his line of thought when Rei asked him of their destination. She had mostly recovered from her embarrassment and it seemed decided that the best way to move on from the pervious faux pas she had made was to pretend it never happened. For now, he'd go along with her little plan, but he would make sure she never forgot it. Ever.

He gazed at the island that had barely appeared from the horizon, the sun still in the sky telling him it was only around four o'clock. What he had planned would need to happen closer to when the sun was setting, so they had some time to kill before then. Actually, Rei would be the one with time on her hands, he needed to set up a few things in order for his plans to play out perfectly. So that meant keeping her preoccupied for a time on the island before they officially began their date.

"An island I visit around this time of year," Mihawk vaguely told her, trying to think of a good way to keep her occupied while he finished his plans.

"Oh, well what's it like?" She seemed genuinely curious about the island and its inhabitants, especially since he seemed to visit this island more than most.

"Patience. You will see."

Rei wasn't happy with his response, but made no retort. Instead she just crossed her arms and glared bitterly at the island, remembering that she was forced upon a date with a man who purposely tried to get under her skin simply because he thought it was entertaining. Soon enough they made port and Rei could see exactly what the island was like. She didn't disappoint him when she let out an indignant sound and looked at him with extreme displeasure.

"Everyone here dresses like _you_!"

"Hmm, I suppose so. We derive from similar cultural roots, so it makes sense that our attire is alike, though mine is much finer quality than theirs." Mihawk shrugged it off.

"But..." She clutched her hands close to her bosom as she looked around timidly. "I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb..."

"So?" Mihawk shrugged, he didn't care if people looked at them, as long as he didn't have to deal with foolish men trying to prove their merit as a swordsman when they had no skill at all.

"So?!" She turned his question against him, blushing fretfully about the whole thing. "It's bad enough when people stare at me because of my eyes! I don't want to draw more attention by looking out of place. Couldn't I get changed into something else?"

"Do you have anything akin to your kimono, like a dress?" Mihawk rose a brow in question, already feeling like he knew the answer.

"N-no..."

Rei looked down at her feet, her hands still clasped together as they hung limp against her body. Mihawk had a feeling that would be Rei's answer. She wasn't one to gussy up, so she probably had brought only one or two formal outfits to wear for special occasions, if they ever were to arise. Both were probably kimono's from what he understood from her upbringing. From what he could gleam of her childhood, standing out had caused her a lot of unwarranted problems and caused her to greatly dislike being the center of attention in public. But he wasn't about to let her dress down merely because she felt uncomfortable about all the attention. However, it would indeed cause unnecessary problems and he wanted tonight to be flawless. He glanced at the sun's position and smirked. A solution already forming in his devious head.

"Come along." He told her, grabbing her gently by the shoulders and ushering her off her vessel.

"Please Mihawk," Rei whined, unhappy with all the attention they were receiving. "Please don't make me walk around like this."

He ignored her pleas, looking around for something particular while pushing her forward through the streets as she tried to drag her feet. On a normal day, she might have put up more of a fight, but not after the session he had put her through not even two hours ago. No doubt her arms and legs still felt weak and shaky. He smirked when he caught sight of what he was looking for and steered her to a little storefront, opening the door and in one smooth motion, ushering Rei into the store. A bell above the door jingled, letting the staff know that they had customers.

Several women stopped what they were doing when they heard the bell and looked to see who had entered the store.

"_Buenas tardes_, _Senoritas_," Mihawk drawled in a deep tone, a playful smirk dancing on his lips as he gazed at the women before him.

They all stared a moment more before erupting into their own joyous salutations and a flurry of questions and remarks as they approached the two. Rei looked back at him, completely confused as to what the gaggle of women were saying since they only spoke Spanish. Mihawk, however, knew what they were saying, nodding or giving them the proper response to their questions in their native tongue. The women were all older than Rei, the youngest of them being about five years older than the 19 year old, and all of them were familiar with him due to prior visits.

He quickly spoke to them, pleased at their laughter and words of agreement to his request. They proceeded to grab Rei by the arms, one of them even slipping between him and her to further pull her into the shop. All of them were already talking among themselves about what they wanted to do while Rei turned her head to look at Mihawk with a panicked expression, unsure of why she was being dragged away from him.

"Mihawk! What are they saying? Where are they taking me?"

"Allow them to do whatever they please. I have a few things that need my attention, so I'll leave you to them. I will be back before the sun fully sets, _Senorita Rei_." He told her in a cool, teasing tone. He turned to leave, pausing for a moment to look over his shoulder. "And do be a good girl for them, won't you?"

"Mihawk! Hey! Don't leave me here! Mihawk!? _Mihawk_!" Rei shouted, her eyes wide with alarm as she unsuccessfully tried to drag her feet.

Mihawk continued his route out of the building, still hearing the desperate calls of his toy as the older women dragged her to the back. He tipped his hat to the sole woman that came back to the front of the store. She giggled at him before flipping the sign that said 'open' to 'close'. He smirked as he strolled off, confident that she would be ready by the time he returned.

He was sorely tempted to hum a merry old tune to himself as he headed down the street. He hadn't had this much fun in a _long_ time.

* * *

When Mihawk returned, he was not disappointed. He had been ushered in, quietly listening to the flurry of compliments the women squealed about Rei. He would nod, giving them response that they wanted to hear, and allowed them to lead him by the hand further into the shop where Rei was.

Once he was inside, some of the women left his side to retrieve the young swordswoman. He could hear her light protests as they happily pushed her into the room and allowing Mihawk to see the fruits of their labor. Rei wasn't looking at him, just standing in the spot where they had pushed her and staring down at her hands. She was no longer wearing her kimono, instead wearing something the women here would wear on a nice night out.

She was dressed in a white ruffled top that left her shoulders and her collar bare. The sleeves were puffy and elegant and only tapering into a fitting form at the wrists, which was decorated in black lace instead. She was wearing a deep red decorative corset which complimented her hourglass form that was usually never seen. The skirt of her outfit as a simple, yet elegant black material that trailed down to her ankles and was given a filled out shape due to the underskirt she wore. Her black boots were suede with stiletto heels, which she looked shaky upon. They had even added a few accessories, like black gloves and a choker necklace with a simple white rose cameo hanging from the black lace material that made up the necklace. Her hair and make-up had been redone and now her hair was an elegant upsweep of curls and twists instead of a simple bun. Her lips were now a beautiful dark shade of red and the eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara only served to heighten the natural beauty of her marvelous eye color.

Mihawk was sure to compliment each one of the women for their hard work, giving them a peck on their hands and their cheeks. Rei stood there, trying not to look completely embarrassed as the women she could _not_ understand gushed over what he had said. Mihawk was sure to pay them well for all their wonderful efforts before turning his full attention to his little date once more.

Still looking too proud of his idea to drop her off here for a while, he motioned for her hand in a gentlemanly fashion. She hesitated, thinking of if she actually wanted to go with him after all of _this_, but then recalled that she had lost the wager and _had_ to go on a date with him.

She took his hand, glad for the balance it brought her as she tried to walk in her heels. He wordlessly prompted her to take his arm as he once more spoke to the women of the shop. They all laughed heartily, making even Mihawk want to grin lazily at what he had said to them. Instead he tipped his hat and bid them farewell, turning and leading Rei out of the shop.

"_Feliz Cumpleaños, Senior Dracule_!" They called out after them, getting Mihawk to turn his head and call back a '_Mil Gracias'_ in return.

When they were a safe distance from the shop, Rei finally looked at him, her anger evident on her face. "What was that all about!"

"Did you not voice your concern about standing out due to your state of dress? I believe now that you fit in quite well." Mihawk said with a pleased smirk on his lips.

"So you left me with a bunch of chatty women, all of which only spoke _Spanish_, so that they could strip me, wash me, and dress me up like I'm some sort of doll?" Rei seethed at him while clutching to his arm tightly to keep from falling over in her heels as he continued to escort her to their first destination for their date.

"_Sí._"

Rei gave him a dark look. "I am assuming, from the very little time I've had to learn this language, that _that_ means 'yes'."

"_Sí._"

"Mihawk, you are on my shit list indefinitely, you know that?"

"_Sí._"

Needless to say, Rei didn't so much as look at him, let alone _talk_ to him, for the rest of their slow walk to the next destination.

"A restaurant?" She couldn't help but question when he led her to a very nice looking establishment.

"Yes, I like coming here when I am in the area." Mihawk informed her before leading her to the front where a waiter was already waiting to seat them.

Everyone here knew who he was.

They were led to the second level and onto a private balcony so that the two of them could enjoy the warm night's air while being able to talk without straining to hear each other. Rei looked legitimately surprised when he pulled out a chair for her and made sure she was seated before taking his own seat and taking off his hat, resting it on the side of the chair nicely.

"So you _can_ be a gentleman." Rei remarked, observing his flawless posture and table manners.

He noted that she too have her back perfectly straight and her hands resting in her lap as she had her legs tucked in a lady like manner under her chair instead of crossing them.

"And there is hope for you yet in being an actual lady," he responded with a teasing smirk.

"I may not dress like one all the time, but I am a proper lady. My father made sure of that." Rei informed him sternly.

"And yet you only brought kimonos as formal wear upon your travels."

"I did not think that I would be attending any events that would call for anything outside of casual attire." Rei shrugged. "Plus, I'm not very girly." Before he had a chance to comment upon her last statement, she quickly changed the subject. "By the way, what did those women call out to you when we were leaving, _Senior Dracule_."

He didn't miss the way she had teasingly repeated how they had addressed him. Though his name was Dracule Mihawk, he preferred to be called Mihawk or even Hawk-Eyes over his surname.

"They were saying their farewells to me. I don't visit often, only around-"

"This time of year. Yeah, you already said that." Rei interrupted him, waving off his repeated explanation. "But what does... _Feliz... Cumpleaños_ mean."

Mihawk shook his head, telling her through that motion that he wasn't going to tell her. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't really important."

Though she pouted a bit, she nodded and tried to move onto something else. Rei grabbed her menu and proceeded to look at it, getting ready to order her meal since he _obviously_ didn't want to talk about what had been said to him. However, Mihawk noticed with a smirk, she came to realize that the whole entire menu was written in Spanish.

"I can't read this." She said blankly, no longer really surprised since this was how her day had been going.

"I can." Mihawk told her with a smug smirk.

Her eyes narrowed as she sent him an unspoken 'of course _you_ can, but that doesn't help me pick my food' with her facial expression alone.

"Do not fret. I will simply order for the both of us."

"As long as my dinner isn't something weird, I suppose..."

"I promise, your main course will be edible and appealing." Mihawk promised her with a nod.

Though, he never promised that the appetizer wasn't going to be extremely out of her comfort zone. But she wasn't going to know that till it was served, until then, she would be completely unaware of what had been said and ordered. He had ordered a bottle of his favorite red wine. He and his young associate were actually having a nice conversation about their upbringings. Rei had been quite shocked to hear that he was fluent in speaking, reading, and writing almost ever known language, including a few dead ones. She could read both characters and romaji since Water 7 had been littered with both forms of writing. He had teased her a bit, commenting on the fact that she had said she couldn't read the menu earlier.

"I could read the words and distinguish how to pronounce them somewhat, but that doesn't mean I understood what it was saying." She snapped at him. "Understanding is apart of reading and if one cannot understand what is being written, then that means that one is not truly reading it at all."

He laid off of her about it since she had given him such an insightful remark about the whole situation. Rei rolled her eyes, probably hoping that their first course would be there soon so they could move on to the other parts of their date. It did, but from the look on her face when she saw what it was, Mihawk could tell that Rei was torn between cussing him out or full out bawling in her vexation. She ended up just looking indifferent as she stared at what their appetizer was, an eye twitching as she fought to keep her chosen composure.

"Mihawk..." She started out in a dead pan, finally ripping her eyes from the dish to meet his golden stare. She paused for a second, taking in his smug, pleased expression before continuing. "There are _snails_ on the plate."

"_Sí._" He couldn't resist saying before continuing on. "They are a delicacy here."

Rei stared at him a moment more, probably still considering whether cussing him out would actually prove to be fruitful or if attempting to stay numb to the whole situation would be better. She chose being numb. "Snails are a delicacy? I can understand fresh fruit or squid or sea urchins or even live octopus... but not snails."

That was right. Mihawk realized silently. She grew up on Water 7. They mostly had to import food to the man made island and most of what was caught natively was seafood. She wouldn't be use to such a notion as snails being eatable.

"Do not judge something before you have experienced it." Mihawk told her, taking one of the snails and ate it right out of its shell, dropping the remains back upon the plate. "You might find that something that looks strange is actually quite delicious."

Rei's left eye twitched, probably thinking about the last time she had eaten something she had thought had looked strange. It must have tasted repugnant from the look upon her face as she drew the conclusion from her memory. She looked at him again, hoping that he would drop the whole thing, but he made sure from just one glance that he wouldn't let the subject drop until she tried at least one.

She nearly groaned as she picked up one of the snails, looking at the seasoned appetizer with much apprehension before slurping it rather ungracefully out of the shell. She made a face as she swallowed, dropping the shell back onto the plate before taking a rather large gulp of her wine.

"Not the worse thing I've had, but it probably goes right up there with the live octopus." Rei admitted, taking another one and eating it with more manners than the first time.

Mihawk rose a brow, "Live octopus?"

He definitely wanted to hear this story.

"My father took me to a very expensive restaurant for a business meeting and the man in charge of the whole affair had already selected everyone's menu. Since it was on Water 7, live octopus isn't that outrageous and is seen as a more fun dish since one has to be careful when eating it. It's basically a live baby octopus that you dip into a sauce, which stuns them for a time, and you have to quickly swallow it whole. It can cause problems if you don't eat it fast enough and it recovers while one is swallowing it." Rei explained rather quickly. "That was the best part of the whole meeting, regretfully."

"I see," Mihawk couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "and snails are worse how?"

"They're slimy and mucus covered bugs." Rei told him with a shutter, taking another one and eating it despite her last statement.

"Yet you continue to eat it?"

Rei shrugged, he could see it had something to do with her childhood as she shook her head. "I don't like wasting food, Mihawk, no matter _what_ it is."

Their main courses came soon afterwards, Rei was genuinely relieved when her main course looked absolutely delicious. Much to Mihawk's surprise, she was quite easily able to eat everything on her plate. Then again, she was an active swordswoman that needed the large calorie intake to offset the amount of energy she expended upon her training.

After dinner, the two of them wandered about the streets of the island, which happened to be having a festival that night. He and Rei both played a few of the festival games, competing to see who could win the most games. To Rei's chagrin, Mihawk always turned out the victor, no matter how hard she tried. She even asked him if there was anything he _couldn't_ do.

"Lose" was Mihawk's simple, one worded answer and it greatly aggregated Rei.

Soon they were meandering through the streets once more, Mihawk was leading her into the general direction of one of his goal destinations, but wasn't in a rush to get there. Since there was a festival tonight, he knew the store wouldn't be closing anytime soon. Rei was still clinging on to his arm, slightly more use to walking in her heels than before but still uncomfortable walking in them without some support. When they finally reached the shop, Rei was rather shocked to see where he had taken her.

"Go on, choose one." He prompted her, pushing her forward with his hand on the small of her back.

Rei turned looked at him with surprised red eyes before looking back at the store. "They're hats! Like yours!"

Not exactly like his, since his was one of a kind, but close enough to make the young swordswoman happy.

"_Sí, _you expressed an interest in my hat, so why not indulge you a bit by giving you your _own_ hat."

"Afraid I'll win it one of these days?" Rei asked with a teasing twinkle in her eye.

"No. However, I do not wish for you to become green with envy seeing as you think my hat is wonderful. Now off with you, find something that'll fit your fancy," Mihawk teased back before prompting her to go with a swift swat to her backside.

He quite enjoyed her indignant yelp as a blush erupted on her face while her back went ramrod straight and her hands flew to cover her rump. She gave him a dark scowl, hissing his name in fury, and stomped on his foot (which slightly hurt because of her heel), before walking further into the shop to find the perfect compensation for her recent humiliation. He laughed under his breath, fighting back the smile that threatened to break his unapproachable demeanor. His dear Rei was really something special.

After roaming the store a few times, Rei finally picked out a hat. It was quite expensive, something she normally wouldn't have picked out solely because of the price, but she was still quite vexed with him, so she didn't feel sorry about her decision. It was a marvelous hat anyways. It was a black, wide brimmed hat that was nearly identical to his, though his remained to be the best of within the whole entire room, but hers was close. The plumage, however, a deep red, matching her eyes magnificently and the ornament around the base of the hat was gold with a ruby like gemstone. It suited her, he thought. He paid for it without hesitation, watching as she carefully put the hat on over her hairdo, the curled locks cascading from under the hat in a elegant manner and her outfit looked complete with the hat upon her head.

Though she was still slightly mad at him, for multiple reasons, the latest just being the unnecessary swat to her rump, Rei took his arm once more as she was lead down the festival filled streets.

"Wow, is it some sort of holiday today?" She asked, mentally checking off holidays she _knew_ it couldn't be for sure.

"For them it is. It's the day of birth of one of their local heroes. Apparently, he had saved them from a local monster, a _Chupacabras_ I believe it was called, that had been plaguing their village for years. So now, every year on March 9th, the day he was born, they celebrate his deeds by holding a festival." Mihawk explained, shrugging his shoulders as he continued to talk. "It is honestly the first time I've ever attended, I usually am elsewhere, participating in a different event."

"Oh. I see." She paused for a second before looking back in a panic. "March 9th! Today is March 9th!"

"_Sí_," Mihawk nodded, surprised at her reaction. Surely, she did not know that... "Why, is there something special about today for you?"

"_Yes_," Rei said with great despair, "Today is Franky's birthday and I almost forgot!"

She quickly looked around, oddly enough they had stopped not too far off from a stand that had been selling cupcakes with a candle in each one. She quickly pulled herself away from him and carefully approached the stand, pointing at one of the cupcakes. Mihawk frowned slightly as she came back, lighting the candle with her ability to produce fire.

"Since he's not here, I'll just make a birthday wish for him and hope he gets it." Rei told Mihawk, grabbing onto his arm once more as she closed her eyes to make the birthday wish for her friend who was far, far away.

She opened her eyes again, readying to blow the flame she had lit upon the candle out, when he quickly swooped in, blowing out the candle with a single harsh huff of air, removing the candle from the pastry, and in one bite, snatching the whole cupcake from her fingers. She let out an indignant "hey!" when she realized what he had done, but he had already finished chewing and swallowing it by then, standing back at his full height.

"That was Franky's birthday cupcake!" She told him with aggravation.

"He wasn't here to enjoy it." Mihawk simple shrugged, pulling her along as he began to head back to her boat for the last part of the event.

"I know that, but I would have _shared_ it with you after I had made the wish!" Rei informed him, trying to drag her feet (and failing) in retaliation.

"I didn't want to share," Mihawk simply said.

"Why? It's not like it's your birthday or anything!" Rei huffed, pulling her arm loose and standing there with both hands on her hips.

He stopped, turning his head to look at her from over his shoulder, "Come along, Rei, there is still one last part of our date before I let you off the hook."

Rei stood there, looking utterly confused and annoyed with him. She didn't want to go anywhere with him at the moment because of what he had done with someone else's birthday cupcake, but she was eager to be released from her end of the wager and finally caught up with him. He took her by the hand once more and lead her back to her boat.

She blinked, confused at why the last part of the date would be _here_, but when he sat down on the top of the staircase leading to her upper deck, she realized something was going on. He prompted her to sit next to him on the narrow staircase, which she did with much prudence. He merely gestured at her to watch the night sky above the village, which from this spot on the deck they had a great view of. Suddenly, she heard the familiar whistle of a rocket being propelled into the sky before a brilliant flash of light appeared in the night sky, the deafening boom echoing long after the lights of the firework diminished. She glanced at him with an excited look in her eye and he could see that she was greatly pleased at the idea.

"Fireworks!" She gushed happily. "I haven't seen fireworks in forever!"

She then turned her attention back into the sky as the show of lights in the night sky continued, her eyes never wavering from them as it continued on for the next half an hour. At the finale, where the night sky was littered in the colorful lights of a plethora of fireworks, Rei clapped happily, laughing as the colors danced off the reflection of her eyes.

"I have not seen fireworks since I was a little girl!" She confided in him, still happily laughing as the show finally ended. "Thank you so much!"

"I see, then I am glad that I could be of assistance." He tipped his hat to her. "I hope that, despite the few times you became vexed at me, it was a wonderful night for you."

"Yes," Rei nodded, calming down from her earlier mood, "I did have a good time."

"Perhaps we could have a repeat of this night another time then?"

"Go on another date?" Rei asked in shock before shaking her head. "I'm not sure I'd go again with _you_."

"Why ever not?" He couldn't help but ask, watching her facial expression pull into a very wary look. He could see the clogs in her mind working, trying to figure out why he would even ask her such a thing, no doubt running through all their time together seeking an answer.

Though he was ready for some outlandish comment about him being a pervert, he had not expected to hear what had come from her mouth.

"Teasing me, spending your spare time with me, going out of your way to be with me, asking me on dates, getting me expensive gifts and trinkets, pampering me, buying me dinner, being jealous over Franky's birthday cupcake...You're not in _love_ with me, are you?" She asked cautiously, leaning away from him in fear that her suspicions might be true.

Mihawk blinked at her with wide eyes, shocked at what she had just said before bursting out into a full out laughing fit.

"Wahhahhahhahhahhahhahha~!"

Rei's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he practically doubled over in his seat from laughing so hard, realizing how preposterous the notion even seemed now that she had voiced it. She quickly got tired of listening to his booming laughter, feeling rather indignant at why he was laughing, and tried to get up to lock herself in her ship's quarters.

"Okay I get it. It's funny. Haha." She muttered as she tried to flee the scene, her face still red with embarrassment.

However, he didn't let her, grabbing her by the waist as she got up and made her way down the stairs and sitting her on his lap as he continued to laugh. His forehead resting on the back of her shoulder as he held her tightly to him so she couldn't break free, no matter how hard she tried to. She gave up after a while, going limp as she listened to him still cackling loudly at what she had said. He was using her back now to try to muffle his dying laughter as he fought to compose himself.

"I... haha... have not laughed like that in a _long_ time, if ever." He told her with a light tone, still trying to control his urge to continue laughing.

"I'm so glad I could _help_." She sneered, trying to turn her humiliation into anger to make herself feel better.

"Now, now, you caught me by surprise." Mihawk told her, moving to rest his chin on her shoulder so he could better look at her. His hat had fallen behind him when he had jerked his head back with his first bark of laughter. "Not many people can do that."

"It's even worse that _you're_ trying to make me feel better after spending the last fifteen minutes _laughing_ at me." Rei deadpanned.

He couldn't hold back the chuckle as he hugged her frame closer to his, pleased with how she wasn't fighting him any longer about sitting on his lap. "Well, I will tell you, I am not in _love_ with you the way you implied, but I am quite fond of you."

"But hopefully never in love with me?" Rei checked, just too make sure she wouldn't have to worry about such a thing later.

"Not in that way, no. I see you more like a little sister I never had growing up, if I had to draw the comparison."

"More like you're the crazy uncle that likes to play horrible pranks on me than a big brother. I already have _two_ of those in my life, thank you very much."

"Alright then, I concede to being the crazy uncle as long as I can call upon you whenever I so desire." He still had his head resting on her shoulder, pleased with this turn of events.

"I'm not going on a date with you ever again." Rei clarified, crossing her arms and looking down at his eyes.

"We'll see." Was all he said about that subject.

After a moment's silence, that though it was pleasant was rather odd since she was still sitting in his lap and had yet try to free herself from him, Rei spoke another question that had been nigging at the back of her mind.

"So... why _did_ you want to go on a date with me if you're not _in love_ with me?"

He smiled slightly, deciding it would be okay if he told her now. After all, she had yet picked up on any of the hints that had been dropped. "Because, it is my _cumpleaños_."

"_Cumpleaños_? The women at the store said that as we were leaving. You said it was nothing."

"Well, it's not really all that important in the long run of things, just to me, my family, and this small, insignificant island, I guess. Just like this Franky's _cumpleaños _is to you."

She jerked in his grip as she turned to get a better look at his face, hers completely in shock as she looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "_Cumpleaños_ means birthday doesn't it? _Feliz cumpleaños_ means _happy birthday_! It's your birthday today!"

And just to piss her off ever so slightly. "_Sí._"

He was surprised when she swatted him hard in the shoulder, making him flinch at the harsh pain that ran through his nerves.

"You jerk! You could have _told_ me that it was your birthday!" Then she had another realization. "You _saved_ this island from the monster! That's why they all like you!"

"_Sí._"

She hit him again, this time upside the head for being a little shit with his stupid one word, _Spanish_ answers.

"You are so stupid sometimes! You know, I would have come _with_ you if you had _told_ me it was your birthday!" She raged, angry that he had done all of this just so she would celebrate his birthday with him, even if it was without her realizing it.

"Would you have really believed me if I told you this afternoon that I wanted you to accompany me to an island on a date without leaving in the middle of it because it was conveniently my birthday?"

He had her there. She would have never believed him and the look on her face told him so. She still huffed, finally pulling herself out of his lap as she stood up to look down at him.

"No. But next year we do this right. _You_ do not get to buy _me_ dinner. _You_ do not buy _me_ presents. And most of all, next year _you_ eat your _own_ birthday cake, not Franky's. Got it?"

He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. "So you and I will be celebrating my birthday together next year?" He'd like that a lot. It would be a _lot_ better than what he usually did.

"Yeah, sure." She said, shrugging and waving it off. "I'll even make you a cake and grant you _one_ birthday wish that is well within my power."

"I look forward to it." He nodded, pausing as he thought for a moment. "What about this year?"

"You got your birthday, however underhanded it was." Rei snorted as she put her hands on her hips.

The town had slowly turned out their lights and now the only thing that was producing light was the full moon in the night sky. Rei's eyes glowed like embers in the dark, the only thing other than the moon that gave an iridescent glow.

"Then I wait with an eager heart for next year." He told her.

She sighed, realizing that he was going to find her, no matter where she was that day, and make her live up to her words, no matter how sarcastic it had been. She did have one last question though before attempting to kick him off her boat.

"So... what have you been doing for your birthday previously?"

* * *

-Somewhere in the New World-

"Benn! Benn! Benny-boy!" The slurred words of his captain reached his ears as the drunken red head crashed into his back. He sat there, hoping, praying that the man would leave him alone.

"What Okashira?" he muttered finally when he realized Shanks would not go away till he humored the drunken bastard.

"Do _you_ know where -hic- Hawk-eyes is? He ne'er misses our birthday bash!" Shanks asked him, leaning in too close for Benn's tastes as he could smell the ale on his captain's breath.

"No, I don't. He probably decided that he didn't want to spend another birthday with people he didn't like and decided not to come." Benn agitatedly told his captain, muttering under his breath 'lucky bastard'.

"Well then," Shanks stood once more, wobbling from how drunk he truly was, "We'll just have to party _harder_ so he knows he missed a great time!"

Benn wished _he_ could have missed this party.

* * *

-Elsewhere in Paradise-

He was greatly considering gnawing off his own hand at this point, slouching at the bar table while yanking on the cuff that kept him there. He was desperately trying to tune out the sounds of "SUPER BIRTHDAY FRANKY" along with all the other drunken antics of the men and women of Franky House.

He desperately wished Rei was here, partying it up with Franky and his cronies. Maybe if _she_ had been here, they wouldn't have kidnapped him for the night to force him to celebrate Franky's birthday with them.

"Can I go home!" He hollered at them for the hundredth time that night, making Franky pause in his 'Super dance'.

"When it's not my birthday anymore, Otouto!"

"Stop calling me that! My name is Kaito, dammit, and I want to go back home!"

"But it's my super birthday..." Franky instantly looked downtrodden at Kaito's refusal to celebrate.

Kaito groaned, rolling his eyes up to the heavens and asking for strength. "Okay Franky. I'll stay_ and _participate. Happy Birthday, okay?"

The roars of joy within the room as he was unchained from the counter and was forced to stand next Franky while he continued dancing on the table could not make Kaito regret it more. But he liked Franky enough to want him happy on his birthday.

"Just remember... it's for today _only_... got it... _Aniki_?"

"BEST SUPER BIRTHDAY EVER!"

Did Kaito mention he missed Rei?

* * *

Haki-Amibition

_Saijō Ō Wazamono-_Supreme Grade Swords

Ryu Chuushin-Dragon Heart

Ryu Dokyou-Dragon Courage

Yoru-Night

Shichibukai-Warlord

_Buenas tardes_, _Senoritas_-Good afternoon, ladies

___Mil Gracias_-Many Thanks

Okashira-Boss

Otouto-Little Brother

Aniki-Big Brother

* * *

A/N Edited: An updated and better version of Mihawk's birthday is finally up, thanks to Volleys-chan. As I have said in my original notes, this takes place later in **The Dragon Chronicles**, my main fanfiction that will get there in time. Also, the portrayal of Mihawk's character will be further explained when the main story gets there. For now, I'll point out that Mihawk found new entertainment to keep him occupied for quite a long time. I feel sorry for Benn in being around a drunken Shanks.

Kaito is one of the pivotal OCs I have mentioned on my profile and he'll be seen later in the main story also. And there's a reason why he's called 'little brother' by Franky, which I can't reveal till my main story arrives at that point.

Did anyone else knew that Mihawk, Shanks and Franky share the same birthday? I found it comical and ironic. Happy birthday to awesome three guys!

Comments and thoughtful reviews are welcomed, but flames will be deleted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. Plot and OC belongs to Hitoshirezu Ryu.**

* * *

_March 20 - Rumination_

* * *

All the Straw Hats had one question running through their mind. They were wondering what was wrong with their captain. It was after breakfast that they noticed Luffy wasn't being normal. He didn't join Usopp and Chopper in their antics of catching fish. He didn't snuck into Nami's mikan trees to snatch an orange. He didn't watch Franky's new launcher being used. He didn't laugh at Brook's Skull Jokes. Most of all, he wasn't heard yelling for Sanji to make him a snack or meat when the cook brought out treats for the females as he regularly does.

All the crew members asked the rubber man if he was ok when they see him and all they received as an answer was "Eh" in a glum tone. Few of them were baffled by the response, but then again who doesn't when it comes to their captain? Since their recruitment in being his nakama, they have been astonished by the captain's actions that it soon it became a norm to watch out for his unanticipated behaviors from searching for meat to challenging the government. The members decided it was best to leave the rubber man alone, giving him space except for one person.

Rei, their current ship guest who has been lodging on Thousand Sunny for a trial stay to see if she wanted to join the crew or not, thought it was better to talk to Luffy of what's going on, being the concerned person she is for others. She found him sitting on his favorite spot, Sunny-Go's head and approached slowly, letting the male know of her presence. She seated herself on the rubber man's left side, while perceiving him making circular motions on the hard surface with a frown.

"Hey, Luffy," she spoke to get the male's attention.

Luffy stopped his fingering and glanced at the female with a jaded tone. "Hey, Rei."

"Are you okay," Rei asked then Luffy done a sigh.

"Eh."

"You're sure," she enquired.

He grunted with a nod then Rei pointed out something.

"You seem sad about something."

"Mm…" Luffy mumbled as he shrugged then went back to fingering circles.

"Would you like to hear a story to cheer you up," Rei offered, thinking she could learn why the rubber man seem so sullen today of all days.

Luffy instantly faced her and answered with interest. "A story?"

He was perked by the subject, recalling the tales that Shanks and the Red-Haired Pirates told him of their adventures when he was a little boy. It was because of their stories that inspired him to become a pirate then refined his goal to be Pirate King, the pirate who had the most freedom on the sea.

"I'll tell you the story of a pair of cabin boys named Shanks and Buggy done bets with one another," Rei clarified with a smile

"Shanks and Buggy," Luffy repeated, filled with excitement with slight distaste towards the name of the clown pirate. He recollected back when the clown captain claimed being nakama with Red-Hair when they first met, which still didn't make sense how those two have _been_ nakama before.

"It's a _very_ funny story of them doing stupid bets," Rei noted after sensing the male's disfavor.

Luffy crossed his arms and thought with a serious expression. Few seconds later, he answered. "Okay."

Rei nodded then retold the tale of the young cabin boys' antics back when they were on the Pirate King's ship long ago.

* * *

In the pub that the Roger pirates were staying at, numerous mugs of beer and food delicacies were being eaten and drunk in the jolly atmosphere. They were celebrating another tie victory with Whitebeard in the short battle on sea they had earlier in the afternoon. Among the merrymaking, a pair of sixteen-year-olds Shanks and Buggy were sitting on barstools at the main counter, while watching some of the older nakama drink themselves silly and have arm wrestling contests.

"It was a good fight that Whitebeard put today," Shanks started to say before sipping some of his alcohol from his glass in his right hand.

"Hn! That damn Whitebeard made fun of my nose _again_," Buggy complained while swirling his own cup.

"Well, it can't be helped. Your nose stands out," Shanks stated.

Few moments later, Buggy yelled at his comrade an angry vein bulging in his forehead. "Eh?! Trying to make fun of my nose, Shanks?!"

"Seriously Buggy, you're too sensitive about it," Shanks remarked after he drank a bit.

"Teme! You want to go at it," Buggy answered as he drew out his six daggers and placed them in his knuckled hands.

"Nah. Don't feel like it," Shanks answered as his red-nose comrade was fuming with smoking coming out of his ears.

"Yarou!"

"Let's make a bet instead," Shanks offered.

Buggy was calmed down instantly and blinked couple of times. "A bet?"

"Let's see who can be the most drunk," Shanks said and Buggy answered with a raised eyebrow.

"That's the most _stupidest_ thing I've heard for a bet."

Shanks then used his free arm to hang over Buggy's shoulders as he persuaded. "Aw, come on, Buggy! It'll be fun! I want to see who's the most tolerant!"

Buggy had his right handed daggers point at a group of their nakama with twenty four empty glasses, while he responded with a dry tone. "Huh! Unless you want to have the biggest hangover of your life, I'm not doing it. It's still a stupid bet."

"Whoever wins gets 1,000 beli," Shanks included with a widened smile, throwing in a deal that he knew his nakama wouldn't pass up.

The blue-haired cabin boy perked at the idea of the award. Though he could sense he might regret tomorrow, but if he can win _free_ money, why pass the deal? After thinking through, he raised the award.

"Make it double."

"Deal," Shanks answered then unhooked himself from Buggy and yelled out to the bartender a request. "Ossan! Get ten mugs over here!"

After the worker filled the 15-oz. glasses to the brim, the cabin boys split the drinks to five each between the two of them. They sat evenly on their seats and placed a hand on their first cup as they stared at each other for a moment with confident smirks.

"You're ready," Shanks asked.

"More than ready to outdrink you and get 2,000 beli," Buggy taunted then Shanks' smirk widened.

"We'll see. Alright… get set… drink!"

The males simultaneously chugged their beverage without taking a breath in between. They slammed their cups against the counter and exhaled a deep breath. Buggy was the first to speak his thought.

"Egh! That's strong stuff!"

"Going to chicken out," Shanks mocked then Buggy retorted.

"In your dreams! Don't mind if _you_ do."

"Nope. Not planning to," Shanks declared as his right hand already grabbed the second glass as well as Buggy, who started the next round.

"Drink!"

When they were guzzling halfway through their third cup, some of the crewmembers started to gather around them and either cheered the boys or made wagers to see who'll past out first. After finishing the fifth drink, the cabin boys were feeling quite tipsy and felt themselves swaying back and forth on their barstools. They could faintly heard the background voices shouting at them as they focused on another's lightly reddened faces from the alcohol.

"Hey… ready to quit," Shanks asked and Buggy answered with hiccups.

"Hic… yeah right… hic… I'm going to… hic… win the money… hic…"

"Ten mugs, Ossan," Shanks shouted as he lazily motioned his right hand in his direction.

Like before, they received the 15-oz brimmed drinks and split it between them evenly. Once they swigged the sixth cup, Shanks expressed his thoughts as he and Buggy grabbed their seventh beverage.

"Hey, Buggy…"

"Yeah… hic," Buggy answered then Shanks continued.

"Bet you're not…. the best singer in the world."

"Oh yeah… hic… I have… hic… the best voice… hic… compare to your… hic… shower singing," Buggy retorted as he shook his drink a bit, letting some of the foam fall out of the cup.

Shanks languidly smirked before singing in his slight off-tune baritone voice. "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest…

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

"Drink and the devil… hic… had done for the rest… hic…

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum," Buggy continued in an equal, yet minor bass tone.

"The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike…

"The bosun brained with a marlinespike…" Shanks sung as he lifted his drink above himself then Buggy stolen the next part.

"And cookey's throat… hic… was marked belike… hic…

"It has been gripped by… hic… finger's ten-"

"And there they lay, all good dead men…"

"Like break o'day… hic… in a boozing ken… hic…"

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum," the cabin boys chorused together then Buggy continued.

"Fifteen men… hic… of the whole ship's list…

Yo ho ho… hic… an a bottle of rum!"

"Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum," Shanks sang before sipping his beverage and let Buggy do the next chorus, who was becoming more lively by standing on top of the counter.

"The skipper lay with his nob… hic… in gore

"Where the scullion's axe… hic… his cheek had shore

"And the scullion… hic… he has stabbed times four… hic…

"And there they lay… hic… and the soggy skies

"Dripped down… hic… in up-staring eyes

"In murk sunset and foul… hic… sunrise

"Yo ho ho and a… hic… bottle of rum."

"Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum," Shanks sung in as he joined in standing along his partner, who drank more before doing the next part.

"Ten of the crew had… hic… had the murder mark!

"Yo ho ho… hic… and a bottle of rum!"

Many of the Roger Pirates were bent over or lying down laughing, holding onto their guts that were hurting from the little show that continued with Shanks taking the subsequent segment as his body motioned into fighting stances to the words.

" 'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead

"Or a yawning hole in a battered head

"And the scuppers' glut with a rotting red

"And there they lay, aye, damn my eyes

"Looking up at paradise

"All souls bound just contrawise

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

For the rest of the song, Buggy and Shanks put an arm around each other shoulders and took turns in singing the lyrics as they jigged between the counter and the barstools with their drinks.

"Fifteen men of… hic… 'em good and true

"Yo ho… hic… and a bottle of… hic… rum!"

"Ev'ry man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"

"There was chest… hic… on chest of Spanish gold

"With a ton of… plate in the middle… hic… hold

"And the cabins riot of stuff… hic… untold,

"And they lay there… hic… that took the plum

"With sightless… hic… glare and their lips struck dumb…

"While we shared… hic… all by the rule of thumb,

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of… hic… rum!"

"More was seen through a sternlight screen…

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

"Chartings undoubt… hic… where a woman had been…

"Yo… hic… ho ho and bottle of rum."

" 'Twas a flimsy shift on a bunker cot

"With a dirk slit sheer through the bosom spot

"And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot

"Oh was she wench or some shuddern' maid

"That dared the knife and took the blade

"By God! She had stuff for a plucky jade

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

"Fifteen men on a… hic… dead man's chest

"Yo ho ho and a… hic… bottle of rum."

"Drink and the devil had done for the rest.

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

"We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight

"With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight

"And we heaved 'em over and out of sight,

"With a Yo-Heave-Ho! And a fare-you-well

"Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell."

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" Shanks and Buggy sang together, ending the song duet.

Laughter and applause rung through the room for the young nakama, who chugged their remaining beverages they had in their hands. Once the liquid was drunk, the cabin boys swayed together like snakes for a bit then Buggy spoke to the teen next teen.

"Oi… hic… Shanks?"

"Yeah…" The red-hair male answered as he listened to his partner made a request.

"Remind me to… hic… kill you tomorrow… hic."

"Why," Shanks asked as he struggled to maintain his balance.

"When I… hic… get the hangover in the… hic… mornin'…" Buggy clarified before he and Shanks tumbled forward, falling onto the wooden floor and lying face flat on their faces. The only sounds that could be heard from the cabin boys were of them snoring loudly as their hands that held the glass cups remained in tact.

"So… Who's going to drink their last six mugs," one of the crewmembers asked.

"I am," Rayleigh answered and no one dared to argue with the first mate, knowing his knack for liquor and that he needed it to calm himself down from the massive headache he earned during the cabin boys' performance.

The following morning in the rooms the crew stayed at the pub for the night, Buggy sat up in his twin set bed then placed a hand on his forehead when he felt a massive headache pounding.

_What a damn aching I'm having… Why am I having this?_

A rush of last night's party flashed through his mind, which made him search the around for the other apprentice before wincing from his pounding head and not wondering how he got on a bed in the first place. To his right, he saw the red-hair teen snoring loudly in a messy twin bed sheets sprawl around him.

"Shanks!" Buggy yelled out as lunged at the other male and let his adrenaline took over.

"Hu-" Shanks mumbled before he felt himself in a choke hold around his neck.

His body instinctively elbowed the attacker and got into the reverse role with the blue-hair male. Buggy managed to use his weight to tumble both he and Shanks to the floor, which they roll around the flooring, trying to dominate for the top. After their scuffle, they got into half kneeling positions and pinched each other cheeks then felt unexpected head punches.

"ITAI," the cabin boys yelled as they released one another and tended to their newly formed lumps.

"Both of you, keep damn quiet! Some of us are trying to sleep hangovers and it doesn't need your raucous bouts as a morning remedy," Rayleigh stated as he stood over the teens in a stern aura. "Since you boys are awake, you can do your morning duties after you get breakfast and drink plenty of water."

"Yes, Rayleigh," the teens mumbled before the first mate left the room and closed the door to leave the two males alone.

"Hand the 2,000 beli over," Buggy said as he continued rubbing his sore spot.

"What," Shanks answered with a confused look then Buggy responded with an irritated tone.

"From our bet! I won the drunk contest so hand over the money!"

Shanks then remembered the party the night before and remarked his observation. "No you didn't."

"Yeah, I did," Buggy retorted.

The red-hair teen then tried to think back carefully the number of mugs he and the other male drank each. He then let out a sigh.

"Can't remember how much we drank last night…"

"That's what happens when you get drunk," Buggy remarked with a scowl.

"That means neither of us gets the money," Shanks answered thoughtfully.

"No way! Someone has to be the winner," Buggy declared and Shanks gave a reason.

"Eh. But since we didn't kept track, it's only fair that we don't get the money."

_Bastard_, Buggy thought grimly. He was determined to win the 2,000 beli by thinking the best bet that he knows he can win. Before he could plan, he decided he'll visit the bathroom to empty some contents as top priority.

Two afternoons later, the greatest bet was formed in Buggy's clever mind. The Roger Pirates were hanging out on the island's beach for some down time and the blue-hair teen thought it was the best opportunity to do the wager. After doing a double check over of his plan and laughing manically for couple of minutes, he shouted out the red-hair male's name.

"Shanks! Get over here!"

From standing with a cluster of nakama hunting for mussles, Shanks looked up and saw Buggy waving at him to come over. After he excused himself, he jogged to the place of the smirking cabin boy then answered as he steadied his breathing.

"Yeah, Buggy?"

"We're doing another bet," Buggy said then Shanks chuckled.

"Dahaha! Can't pass up the money, huh?"

"Hn! This time it doubles, so it's 4,000 beli," Buggy answered with a grunt.

"All right, so what we will be doing for a bet this time," Shanks asked, curious what the blue-hair teen thought of.

"A swimming contest," Buggy declared.

"And where will we be swimming to," Shanks further questioned.

Buggy point is left arm out towards the ocean, where a small lighthouse stood upon little land 200 yards away. "To the isle over there and back."

_This will be the easiest win ever_, he noted with a widened smirk.

Shanks blinked couple of times. "You want to be swimming through piranha infested waters?"

"Yup," Buggy answered. Few seconds later, he faced the other cabin boy with wide eyes. "What?! Piranhas?!"

"Yeah, didn't you read the sign," Shanks asked as he thumb pointed at a wooden sign post standing ten feet away, read as "Danger! Piranhas! No one allowed in water!"

Buggy stared at the marker with disbelief, not believing he looked over a small detail that would affect life and death. He was brought of his musings as Shanks spoke again.

"Are you sure you want to do this bet?"

The blue-haired male quickly composed himself and answered with some confidence. "O-Of course! There's 4,000 beli to win!"

"But you can't enjoy the money when you'll get attack by piranhas first," Shanks commented.

"Oh? You're saying you're _chickening_ out," Buggy mocked with a sneer.

Shanks narrowed his eyes. "I didn't say that."

"_Sure_ you did, lily-livered," Buggy responded before sticking his tongue out like a kid then Shanks cracked his knuckles.

"I'm doing the bet."

"Gyahaha! Okay~," the blue-hair male sang along as he and the other apprentice took off their shirts, showing off their partial six-packs forming. The teens readied into racing positions and as their eyes focused on the target, Shanks spoke up provocatively.

"You know this you'll be your funeral?"

"More like yours once I win the money," Buggy answered then started the count down. "On your mark… Get set…"

He then looked over his shoulders and made a remark. "Oh? There's two hot chicks walking over there!"

"Really? Where," Shanks questioned as he turned his head to glimpse at females, which he realized there wasn't any.

"GO~!" Buggy yelled as he bolted to the shoreline at a rapid pace with Shanks trying to catch up.

"You cheater! You got a head start!"

"Not my fault you got distracted," Buggy retorted before he dived into the water and performed hasty breaststrokes.

_Swim fast and get the money! Swim fast and get the money_, he told himself repeatedly, remembering there was sea creatures lurking in the area below the waves.

He was a little over halfway through that he decided to stop and take a break, feeling his adrenaline have lowered. As he bobbed in the water and took several deep breaths, he looked around the peaceful sea a couple of times.

"Huh? The locals must be coo-coo. I don't see any piranhas swimming around here."

No more than a second later the words left his mouth that he felt a small bite at one of his toes. The blue-haired teen waved his feet then felt more tiny nips around his toes, which he felt ticklish from the action and decided to hold his breath from laughing. As the action continued, he could no longer contain himself then busted out chortling, which caught Shanks' attention who was almost at the halfway point for swimming at a easier pace.

"Why are you laughing, Buggy," Shanks asked then the red-nose teen answered.

"Gyahaha! Something is tickling me! Gyahahahaha!"

Buggy then felt all his left toes into a creature's sharp bite, which he led out a blood-curdling scream. "EEAAAUUUGGGHHHHHH!"

He briskly shook his caught foot as he muttered many curses to the heavens. When he felt the creature unwilling to let go, he lifted his trapped appendage and thinking of giving a good punch. Once his foot was in the air, his eyes expanded exponentially at the sight of an ten inch, oval shaped fish dark gray fish hanging from his hidden toes and he swore the creature was smirking back.

"PIRANHAS," Buggy shouted as he went into 'flight and run,' more like 'flight and swim' mode while performing breaststrokes in the direction he came from while a small heard of the fish were following after.

Shanks was momentarily confused what was going till Buggy bumped into him, causing both males to plunge below the waves for moments. Numerous piranhas bit at their bodies like annoying mosquitos, before they were able to scramble to the surface and swam for dear life to the inland. They were swimming so steadfast that they didn't realize clothing articles slipped into the waves, giving the carnivore predators a new toy to go after.

When the cabin boys reached to the sandy shore, they kneeled side by side and panted heavily for air and slightly wincing from their abundant fish bites accumulated on their bodies. After feeling his heart at a stable pace, Buggy expressed his thoughts.

"Never… Doing that kind of bet again…"

"Agreed," Shanks answered.

The teens then decided to stand up and as they did, they heard rumbles of laughter filling the air. They looked to their left and saw it was their nakama, who were cackling with tears running down their faces that few were rolling around their sand with wrapped arms around the midsection. Both apprentices looked at one another with then faced back at their nakama, who commented.

"You boys swam with the piranhas!"

"Amazing they made out alive!"

"Not only that, they're flashing!"

The older members chortled harder at the last remark then Shanks pointed out something with an even expression.

"I don't see how being bare chested is flashing."

The red-haired cabin boy's words led to more rounds of hilarity, which led to Rayleigh to be the only person make an observation.

"They mean you're flashing your family jewels in public."

"Family," Shanks started to say then Buggy finished.

"Jewels?"

They slowly lowered their heads down, letting their eyes perceive the above view of their manhood being in the open. In realizing what happened to their swimming trunks, their bodies turned flushed to the color of the distinguished red nose and hair they had. They quickly looked for their shirts and attempt to make themselves decent, before they were pulled away by Rayleigh for a long lecture for performing senseless actions as their bodies, particularly rear ends were tended from hundreds of fish bites.

Over the next several days of sailing, the cabin boy pair tried to plot in their minds the perfect, revenge bet that they thought they'll win at. When the crew stopped at an island, the members took time to explore the place for supplies, women and alcohol. The young apprentices though were still figuring out a wager as they wandered through the town. Their ears then heard something interesting.

A tourist guide was talking about the island being famous for their natural, large beehives nestled in the hollows of oak trees, which were abundant around the isle. The honey harvested is also the island's best trading commodity with other islands in and out of Grand Line. Once the courier finished talking and led a few visitors to see one of the famous skeps, the cabin boys found each other and hid themselves in an alleyway.

"I have the _best_ bet," Shanks started first then Buggy argued.

"No way! _I_ have a good one and I'm sure yours it's not that great."

"Listen to mine first then I'll listen to yours," Shanks compromised, not wanting to get into a pointless argument right now.

Buggy crossed his arms as he huffed. "Hn! Fine. What's your idea?"

"We'll bet to see who can get the most honey from one of the beehives we just heard about," Shanks explained.

Buggy blinked before answering slowly. "That… happens to be the same bet I had in mind."

"Wow! That's awesome! We were thinking alike," Shanks commented with a giddy boy smile then Buggy retorted with annoyance.

"I wouldn't want to be thinking like your bastard mind!"

Shanks chuckled a moment before Buggy included a detail.

"The 4,000 beli from last bet should be tripled this time."

"Why tripled," Shanks asked after he calmed down.

"Getting honey from bees won't be an easy task, that's why, dumbass," Buggy clarified then Shanks answered thoughtfully.

"It's actually not that hard."

"And how would _you_ know," Buggy questioned.

"I've done a little bit of honey collecting when I was younger, so I know how it goes," Shanks said in reminiscence and Buggy asked the money ball question.

"So what do we have to do first?"

"We need to find jars, pairing knives, and matches," Shanks stated.

The apprentices knew the place that would have the item they needed. They first got a map of the beehive locations then went back to the Oro Jackson and with caution, made their way to the kitchen. Once they saw no one was occupying the galley, they found two tablecloths then placed empty glass containers on the cloth pieces. After they saw they had about twenty or so jars, they fished out the small blades from the drawer that contained all the cutlery and a box of matches sitting on the windowsill. They carried their loads and swiftly left the ship to find a hive to do their wager.

After twenty minutes of searching, they were able to locate an isolated area that didn't involve tourists. As they approached two enormous oak trees, they stopped in their places to observe the famous beehives. The tree trunks each had teen feet holes with the width of five feet, displaying a sight of thousand of bees swarming in and out of the hollow that held dripping, golden-yellow combs.

"Wow, those are the biggest honeycombs I've ever seen in my life," Shanks commented then Buggy changed the subject.

"Yeah, yeah. We're here to take honey, not watch honey dripping."

"I remember, I remember," Shanks chanted as he and the other teen unloaded their backs then stretched themselves a bit. The red-haired teen then took charge.

"Now, we need to find plants and twigs."

"Why," Buggy asked dryly then Shanks elucidated as he looked for young shrub.

"To make smoke into the hive. The bees will think its fire, so they would be more worried about their honey than stinging us."

"Ah, got it," Buggy answered then proceed to find the burnable cuttings.

After they both gathered an almost medium-sized burning pile nearby the hive openings, Shanks took out a match and lit it before throwing the box to Buggy, who caught it. Buggy mimicked the red-haired teen's actions in getting the match light the pile and gently blowing the smoke to travel into the hole. To his amazement, the bees were gorging themselves over the uncapped honey instead of hovering to either males to sting.

Once he saw it was safe to continue, Shanks took out his pairing knife and cut at a certain area of the honeycomb as he described his actions. "You then cut carefully a piece of the honeycomb, while making sure it doesn't contain larvae."

"Hn! That's easy," Buggy said then got out his own blade and as he progress, Shanks gave an extra note.

"And make sure you don't mess with the queen bee, who'll be slightly bigger than the worker bees and may have a greenish-blue spot on her back."

"Avoid the fat bee with a greenish-blue spot. Got it," Buggy answered.

"A queen bee," Shanks reminded then Buggy remarked.

"A bee is still a damn bee."

Each honeycomb they cut out, it was carefully placed into the jars and they repeated their process of getting the combs without being stung. As Buggy done his task, he was annoyed of the smoke sometimes getting into his eyes but he knew smoked eyes were better than bees' stinging. He then spotted a section that had overfilled combs with dripping honey, which he thought it'll triumph over Shanks' pile. While he reached over, he noticed a bee larger than the others and it was being followed wherever it went.

He figured it was the queen bee, who decided to stand over the segment he was aiming for. He eyed the leader with distaste then smirked a moment later at an idea. He picked up couple of burning twigs and held them in front of the bees guarding the prized honeycomb. The workers gathered around their ruler to shield away from the 'fire' then Buggy proceed the next step. He poked the queen bee with the twigs, leading to unexpected results.

The leader buzzed agitatedly, alarming the laborers to buzz to one another a danger that threatens the queen. Some of the workers hovered circles around Buggy, who tried to wave them off with his other hand that still held the pairing knife. Shanks then noticed the blue-haired male's actions and slightly sighed as he put away a honey comb he cut out.

"Buggy, did you bother the bees?"

"It's not my fault they were in a way of a honeycomb I wanted," Buggy answered as he continued swapping off the pests.

"You're suppose to them alone and do a different section," Shanks said.

Buggy didn't respond, since he was focused on getting rid of the worker bees slowly swarming him. He then done a fast hand swing that caused him to fall backwards and land into the hollow hive. The bees instantly targeted their attacker.

"EEEAAAUUGGH! Get off of me, stupid, damn bees," Buggy yelled as he scrambled to get onto his feet and getting slimed by the yellow liquid.

"Buggy," Shanks yelled out with worry, jogging over to other tree and acted on instinct. He found couple of small rocks and threw them into the top hives, which he quickly found it wasn't the best thing to do. An abundant of bees started to cloud around him, which he tried to use his arms to shield his face as he tried to make his way to the blue-haired male.

"Buggy, grab my hand," Shanks yelled out as he lowered his left arm, which Buggy was able to grab with his right sticky hand and get pulled onto his feet.

They ran for their dear lives from the trees as the bees tailed around them like a dark cloud with their punctured stingers. They yelled frantically with garbled curses to the sky that tourists swore they heard profanities echoing around the hill tops. As if luck was on their side, a lake came to their view which the teens took the chance to do a dive bomb and the bees resumed flying in a straight line.

After a few minutes of hold breathing and feeling the coast was clear, the teens slowly emerge from the water and looked at one another, seeing numerous stingers stick onto each other's skin like small porcupine prickles.

"No more doing stupid bets," Buggy stated then Shanks done a small nod in agreement.

"Never again."

Though they didn't say out loud, but they quietly agreed to not retrieve their collection of honeycombs for they didn't want to endure another round of angry bees. They made their way back to Oro Jackson, which they had to use the alleys, not wanting to be seen by their nakama that could be meandering in the area. As they got closer to the harbor, they were unfortunately spotted by the first mate, who asked the million dollar question of the late afternoon.

"Where were you guys?"

"We went on a walk," the cabin boys answered in an even tone as they continued carrying their puffy forms nearer.

Rayleigh grunted in an disbelieving tone as he enquired again. "And may I know how are you two look like pickles right now?"

"We tripped into poison oak," Buggy said then Shanks finished short.

"A lot."

Again the older man grunted skeptically then instructed to the wearied teens. "Get yourselves checked into the infirmary before reporting to the kitchen to make dinner."

"Yes, Rayleigh," the young males mumbled. Rayleigh then went ahead and stopped himself couple steps later to make an extra note.

"By the way, would you two know anything about the jars, pairing knives and tablecloths gone missing from the kitchen?"

The young pair shook their heads a quarter way, do to their swollen faces as they responded. "No."

Rayleigh again went off as he gave advice without looking back. "Make sure you don't aggravate Billie when you lads help. She's on a killing spree right now and wants the heads of the persons that took the kitchenware."

Shanks and Buggy swallowed hard, just remembering that Billie the head chef, never liked anyone touching her kitchen items unless they were on kitchen duty. If anyone dared to take an item out, the woman will either try to cut or shoot at the victim till he or she was almost half dead. One dread thought passed through the teens' minds as they walked at a slower pace, not wanting to go to the infirmary or the gallery so soon.

_We're going to be in deep hell shit later…_

* * *

Luffy was dying with laughter as he held his gut in a laid down position, lightly rolling back and forth. "Shishishishishishi! Shanks and Buggy done a lot of stupid stuff! Shishishishishishishi!"

Rei chuckled along with the rubber man, who eventually calmed down about ten minutes later. As he slowly propped himself back to sitting up, Luffy commented in a happier mood.

"You were right, Rei. It was a funny story. Who told you about it?"

"A woman named Silver," she said.

"It was a good story," he remarked, "Do you know anymore funny stories of Shanks and Buggy?"

Rei nodded. "I do. We can save them for another time."

"Awesome! I can't wait," Luffy stated before the female beside him continued in gentle concern.

"So Luffy, why were you sad earlier?"

He looked straight at the ocean, staring at the waves a moment before he answered. "It's my brother's birthday today."

"Brother," she asked curiously.

"Sabo. He died when I was a kid…" he further clarified as a small frown settled on his facial features.

"I'm sorry," Rei apologized as she noted while observing the waves like the rubber man. "Silver, who told me the story, also died…"

"Really," Luffy asked with slight surprise as he looked at the swordswoman, who nodded.

"But you know what? I'm not that sad about it."

"Why," he probed.

"I'll always remember her in here," Rei said as she pointed at her heart's location, "Because she'll always be in there, no matter what."

Luffy had a question mark over his head. "She'll be in your chest?"

"Heart, Luffy," the female clarified then the rubber man done an understanding nod.

"Oh yeah! Shishishishi! I heard about it before! Heart, got it! Shishishi!"

An idea then came to Rei, who then waved an index finger at the young captain. "Hey Luffy, I have to get something. I'll be back in a minute."

"Ok," Luffy answered as he remained in his spot.

Few minutes later, he heard the female's voice.

"I'm back, Luffy."

He turned his head to see Rei having pair of chocolate cupcakes in her hands that had a candle in the middle. At the sight of the treat, the rubber man couldn't help but drool a bit.

"Ooo! You got cupcakes!"

"Birthday cupcakes," Rei clarified as she sat down in the spot she was in before as Luffy tilted his head.

"Birthday cupcakes?"

She nodded. "You'll make a wish for Sabo and I'm doing a wish for Silver."

"Oh, Silver has the same birthday like Sabo's," Luffy remarked with amazement.

"Actually, I don't know her birthday," Rei confessed as Luffy tilted his head with puzzlement.

"Then why are you going to make a wish for Silver?"

"I thought it would be nice to do one for her," Rei answered then proceed the action she needed to take. She flowed her kasai qi towards her mouth, blowing a tiny spark the size of a pinky tip on top of the candles, which made Luffy starry-eyed for a moment. She then held out the right handed cupcake, which Luffy took into his hands with care.

"Now make a wish," Rei encouraged.

Luffy nodded then closed his eyes, knowing the birthday person usually closed their eyes before making the wish. After he thought of one, he opened his eyes then took a deep breath and blew at the candle. He unfortunately was still facing Rei, who became splattered with the frosting all over her face. He quickly apologized as he rubbed his head in slight embarrassment.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Rei! For blowing the cupcake on you!"

"It's okay, Luffy," Rei assured as she used her free hand to wiped the icing from the middle of her visage, while recalling a chaotic event couple days ago. "This isn't bad as the batter splatter I did in the kitchen."

"Oh yeah! There was a lot of dough in the kitchen. Shishishi," Luffy laughed, remembering he checked out the kitchen after seeing the ruby-eye female covered with blotches of batter as if in a food fight.

After removing a bit more glaze off of her face, Rei held the saved second cupcake in front of her and closed her eyes a moment before blowing out the candle like Luffy, but with a gentler puff. Luffy then ate his cupcake and as he gobbled, he commented with a full mouth.

"It doesn't taste as good when there's little frosting."

Rei giggled as she broke her treat in half then held out a piece to the rubber man. "Do you want this part?"

"Yeah! Thanks, Rei," Luffy said as he took the portion cupcake and ate it.

As Rei consumed, Luffy spoke again.

"What did you wish for Silver?"

She inwardly giggled at the rubber man's child-like notion as she decided to respond to his curiosity. "That her amazing stories will be passed down to many generations to come."

"Ah," Luffy answered.

"And what did you wish for Sabo," Rei questioned, knowing the male will answer.

"Wished that he's seeing the amazing adventures I have gone on so far with my nakama and that I'll be Pirate King," he explained with a wide smile.

Rei nodded in understanding before Luffy faced her and asked a customary statement he's been doing since her first day of the trial stay.

"Join my nakama, Rei."

"I'm still doing the trial stay to see about that," she reminded then got up as she pointed out something. "Anyway Luffy, I better clean myself up before doing more research. I'll see ya later."

"Think about joining my nakama," Luffy shouted after the female that descended down Sunny-Go's head before he made a pout to himself.

"Somehow, I got to get Rei to be part of my nakama."

* * *

Mikan-Orange or Tangerine

Ossan-Old Man

Itai-Ouch

Kasai-Fire

Qi-Life Energy

* * *

A/N: First thing to address is Silver, who you can know more about in my main fanfiction **The Dragon Chronicles**. Other than that, I can't give out spoilers about her except she's noticed to be dead... which will be address in my other main story.

Now back to business. Again, this takes place later in The Dragon Chronicles in which the time my OC is staying on Thousand Sunny for a little bit, which will be further explained later. The timing of Luffy remembering Sabo's birthday doesn't completely lined up for what I planned in my main story, but for the sake of remembering Sabo, I pretend it's taking place in March.

This fanfic will contain side stories of canon characters celebrating birthdays and holidays that either line up in **The Dragon Chronicles** or an AU, depending on the character such as Sabo. I plan to do an AU birthday next year of him celebrating his birthday if he was still alive, something I think would be fun to write up. I'll able to write all holiday stories such as Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's but not all birthdays, due to few birthdays of some characters I like have birthdays too close to each other such as Usopp and Brook, being two days apart of April 1 and April 3. Next year they'll get their birthday stories.

Again, I apologize for an awkward ending. I wanted to end it with Luffy somehow. And for the grammar, it's going through the editing process by Volleys-chan, but I still wanted to put this up in honoring Sabo's birthday, even though it wasn't completely about him. I'm sorry, Sabo!

Comments and thoughtful reviews are welcomed, but flames will be deleted.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. Plot and OC belongs to Hitoshirezu Ryu.**

* * *

_May 5 - Naivety_

* * *

"Hey, Ace!" A recently turned seven-year-old Luffy exclaimed happily as he dragged an item in his left hand while his other hand made sure to catch the straw hat from flying off. He ran towards his older brother, who was fixing his fortress that was slightly banged up from yesterday's blustery.

"What, Luffy," the eleven-year-old Ace answered as he paused in his task, holding a new nail and the hammer he was using while his charcoal gaze looked on the younger sibling.

Once he made sure to not bump into his brother, Luffy whipped out the item he had as his smile beamed proudly. He held out a red koinobori flag that was as tall as him then explained with excitement.

"Dandan and the guys got me this! They said I should hoist it as good luck to get more meat!"

After recognizing what the flag was fore, Ace withheld a chuckle that wanted to escape as he recalled a tale relating to the clothed item in the hands of the small boy with the straw hat.

"Luffy, the flag isn't a good luck charm."

"It isn't," Luffy immediately questioned as he lowered the flag to reveal his confusion.

"Nope. It actually relates to legend," Ace stated.

"What legend," Luffy asked with widen eyes filled with interest.

Ace inwardly smirked. "Long time ago, there were carps that would only swim upstream and everyone wondered why that was, especially when the carp were never seen again when they go upstream. One day, a boy named Kintaro came riding on a bear and-"

"Rode a bear," Luffy exclaimed with wonder. "How did he do that?"

"He was raised in the forest by the animals, so they taught him all sorts of ways how to live and play like them. He challenged a bear to a fight one day and won, so he gets to ride on the bear every time he goes down the mountain," Ace explained without minding he was interrupted.

"That's so cool!" Luffy said with starry eyes.

Ace continued on. "After Kintaro heard the stories of what's been happening with the carp, he decide he'll check them out. When he got to the river, he watched how some of the carp swam upstream as people claimed and started following the fish. As he walked besides the carp, he was able to witness the most unbelievable sight he had ever seen in his life."

Luffy's attention was completely focused on his older brother as silence passed by a few moments. When he noticed the freckled boy wasn't saying anything, he made his comments.

"What did he saw!"

Ace waited a moment before he said the answer. "Carps turning into dragons."

"Dragons! The snake or the flying kind," Luffy asked with eagerness, pointing out the distinctions that he have heard from stories told from his older brother some time ago.

"Snake kind," Ace elucidated as he used hand gestures. "These carp became _long_ up to hundred feet! And all of them were different colors, so as they swim, the water becomes a rainbow."

"Rainbow water," Luffy exclaimed with more amazement.

"Mm-hmm," Ace hummed as he nodded.

"Let's go find the carp monster," Luffy claimed with the title he entitled the carp before starting to run off with his gift, yet was stopped by his brother.

"Wait, Luffy!"

"Yeah, Ace," Luffy answered as he paused in his run.

"You can only find the carp in New World," Ace stated, while the little brother suddenly pouted with disappointment.

"New World?"

"Yup. New World is the second part of the Grand Line and that's where you'll find your carp monster," Ace explained with some knowledge he learned from Garp couple years ago.

"Aww… I want a carp monster though…" Luffy pouted while his eyes observed his koinobori flag with longing, imagining the amazing creature the fish was.

Ace quietly chuckled, walking to his little brother then rubbed the straw hat sitting on top of Luffy with affection. He stayed quiet a little bit before reassuring the small boy.

"When you turn seventeen, you'll then see the amazing carps."

"Yeah… but you'll see them first since you're older than me," Luffy retorted with a long frown.

"Hehahaha! That's true," Ace agreed then added a note. "We can still find a big fish for dinner."

"Ooh! I want fish! Let's go fishing, Ace," Luffy perked with renewed vigor as his arms widen for demonstration. "Let's catch a fish that's long as the carp monster!"

"Sure," Ace answered with a wide smile and thought to himself.

_What a naïve little brother I have…_

* * *

"It's today!" Luffy yelled as he jumped out of his wooden hammock.

"W… what," Usopp groggily asked as he slowly rose from his bottom bunk and started to rubber one of his eyelids.

"Yahoo!" Luffy shouted as he ran out of the men's quarters.

"What's today…" Chopper questioned with a yawn, lifting his small head to see the opened entry.

Sanji ran a hand through his blond locks before looking at his wristwatch. He instantly became annoyed when he saw the time.

"What the hell… The rubber idiot woke up at _6 am_?"

"Two more super hours of sleeping," Franky claimed before letting himself fall back on his bed and snored seconds later.

"Yohoho…. Luffy-san is quite energetic this morning," Brook commented with a small chuckle as he fixed his afro.

"Wonder why he's up so early _today_," Sanji mumbled as he searched for an outfit, deciding he'll get started on the morning meal and that he won't able to get more sleep anyway.

"It's today," Luffy bellowed again as he ran around the lawn deck. He then saw Zoro and Rei sparring one another with their swords and an idea sparked. He ran towards the swordsmen then jumped at the moment the two sword users were about strike again.

"It's today!"

"LUFFY," Zoro and Rei exclaimed in unison as they immediately swung their weapons away from the rubber man, making sure the katanas didn't mark their captain as they caught their balance.

"Shishishi! That was fun," Luffy laughed as he stood at a safe spot.

"What the _fucking hell_ were you doing," Zoro yelled as a vein bulged from his forehead.

"To see if I won't get cut," Luffy casually answered.

"Teme-" Zoro snarled, making his way towards the rubber man but then was held back by a firm grip around his left arm. He turned his head around to see Rei having a hand on his wrist.

"We can have special training later in place of our interrupted spar," Rei said gently, wanting to calm the fumed swordsman.

Zoro immediately relaxed, which let Rei released her hold of the marimo-haired male, who then questioned.

"How long?"

"Three hours," Rei stated.

"Hn," Zoro grunted in agreement.

"Luffy, what do you mean 'It's today,' " Rei said to the rubber man, who smiled wider.

"It's my birthday!"

"Oh! Happy birthday, Luffy," Rei answered with her own grin.

"Happy birthday," Zoro repeated.

"Thanks," Luffy responded then directed his attention at the cook walking across the lawn to the stairs for the kitchen. He then tailed after the blond-hair man and made a request.

"Sanji! Make a _huge_ fish dinner as big as Sunny-Go later!"

"You better fish then if you want a big dinner, Luffy," Sanji answered as he smoked his new cigarette for the morning.

"Sure," Luffy assured and remembered something. "I want a lot of meat, Sanji!"

"Let me see what we have," Sanji stated, while he noted to himself a list of dishes he'll be making for tonight's meal.

* * *

After lunch, Luffy relaxed on Sunny-Go's head and remembered he'll go fishing in a couple of hours for Sanji to make the feast dinner he asked for. He napped for an hour before instantly sitting up straight with a bewildered expression.

"Ah! I forgot about the flag that flies on my birthday!"

He stretched his right hand to reach the foremast then swung himself away from his favorite spot as he yelled out a name of one of his nakama.

"Usopp!"

He saw the sniper watering Pop Greens by Robin's flower garden, so he decided to land onto the wooden deck. Usopp stopped the watering can as he face his captain.

"What?"

"We need to hang a carp flag," Luffy stated.

Usopp gave a puzzled look. "We don't have one."

"You can make one, Usopp," Luffy reassured, remembering the artistic skills the sniper possessed.

"I can _draw_ on a flag not _sew_ a flag, Luffy," Usopp elucidated.

Luffy crossed his arms and pondered for several moments. He then beamed a smile as he recalled his memory of Ace telling him the story of the carp long time ago when they were kids.

"We can fish a carp."

"…Huh," Usopp said as a question mark hanged over his head.

"Fish for the carp monster and hang it as the flag," Luffy further explained. "We're in New World and there's carp monsters around here!"

"Carp monsters," Usopp repeated with deep puzzlement.

"Carp that can change into a cool monster like Rei, but without wings," Luffy described.

"That's only a legend," Usopp hollered after the rubber man that ran down the stairs, not listening to the sniper and instead asked about for a specific item.

"Where are the fishing poles!"

The long-nose teenager heavily sighed as he put away the watering can and followed the path the rubber man took, knowing the captain's mind won't be changed once a goal was set. After the fishing poles and the large hook for sea kings were found, the two young men sat themselves on the right side of lawn deck's railing and launched out the fishing lines.

Ten minutes passed before Luffy expressed a thought. "I hope we can catch a red or yellow carp monster."

"Carps don't have that kind of colored scales," Usopp commented.

"Uh-huh! There is! Ace told me so," Luffy retorted.

"Your brother was an idiot or was making stuff up," Usopp mumbled to himself.

Within moments, Luffy's line was pulling at the pole, making the rubber man exclaimed with excitement.

"I got something!"

He started reeling in the line and put extra strength when he felt the fish struggling at the line. He then placed himself behind the railing to place a foot on the white barrier for leverage, due to heavy weight pulling away from himself.

"EEHHH?! A _DRAC_?!" Usopp shrieked at the sight of a winged sea creature with a face of a lion pulling the fishing line.

"A what," Luffy asked then Usopp repeated.

"Drac! A dragon that swims in the ocean with either a bull or lion's face!"

Luffy glimpsed at the creature for a moment. "Not a carp monster, but it will be good food."

"How do you know that?!" Usopp shouted.

The rubber man tightened his left hand's grip as his other hand readied behind him and pumped, letting his skin give off steam. "Gear Second!"

His hand then launched forward at high speed. "Gomu Gomu no… Jet Pistol!"

The high speed punch launched into the base of the Drac's neck, knocking out the long sea creature. Luffy reeled in the line then Usopp quickly hooked up the Drac that dangled on the side of the ship, before Luffy released the free line back into the water and Usopp scooted his spot further to be away from the dead catch.

Few minutes went by till Luffy felt his pole moving again. "Oooh~! Another catch!"

He had to exert more strength in pulling his line, so he again went behind the railing and braced himself by the barrier for leverage. As he managed to reel in his second catch, Usopp shouted at the sight of a long-necked creature with flippers as feet.

"A Loch Ness Monster?!"

"Aw… Not the carp monster," Luffy pouted with disappointment.

"You should be worried that you caught _another_ monster," Usopp lectured with irritation.

"It's going to another good meal that Sanji can make," Luffy noted then Usopp reiterated his question from the rubber man's first catch.

"How could sea monsters taste good?!"

Luffy used his 'Gomu Gomu no Pistol' in Gear Second and was able to knock out the Loch Ness Monster as he did with the Drac. After the second catch was pulled in, the creature became sprawled across the lawn deck, making Usopp be at the edge of his seat, while being extra cautious to not fall off as Thousand Sunny weight a bit onto the ocean top.

"This time, I'll catch the carp monster for sure," Luffy declared with confidence.

"And it better stay a carp," Usopp murmured as he hoped there will be no more monster catches.

Another ten minutes passed till Luffy spotted something several feet away nearby the fishing lines of his and Usopp's. His eyes slightly widen at the shape that was similar to a large snake. He looked over at the far away partner and questioned.

"Usopp! Did you see that!"

"See what," Usopp snapped out of his daze on the calm ocean then Luffy pointed a finger towards the water.

"That!"

The sniper's vision followed the direction of the rubber man's finger then took a good look. He started to slightly tremble when he saw a dark shape gliding around the lines.

"You mean the creepy long shadow…"

"That must be the carp monster," Luffy stated with excitement then yelled out a request. "Eat the bait, so I can catch you!"

"We shouldn't be reeling in _another_ monster," Usopp shouted in a mix of fear and annoyance.

"It doesn't want the bait," Luffy exclaimed. "Usopp, shoot at it before it gets away!"

"Fine!" Usopp grumbled then took out his Kuro Kabuto and a Pop Green. He readied the green ammo then focused on his moving target.

"Midori Boshi: Dakuro Bakuhatsu So!"

The Pop Green shot towards the ocean and when it touched the water surface, it exploded. The red explosion in the shape of a skull lingered at the area around the fishing lines as the long dark shape from before vigorously swam towards Thousand Sunny.

"Ah! The carp monster is coming this way," Luffy shouted.

"I'm getting it," Usopp reassured as he quickly looked for his Pop Green of the move he used moments ago.

Before the sniper could even place his prized ammo into his shooter, the elongated shape swiftly jumped onto the railing, scaring both the teenagers from the fast speed.

"AUGH!"

Once the rubber man and sniper landed onto the grass that was being occupied with the Loch Ness Monster, a male's voice spoke up.

"What the hell are you guys trying to catch?"

Luffy fixed his straw hat as he saw a black hair pony-tailed young man dripping wet while crouched on the white barrier. He jumped onto his feet as he recognized the person.

"Kaito! We were trying to catch a carp monster!"

"Carp monster," Kaito eyed the rubber man as Usopp then pointed out something.

"Wait! Were _you_ the one swimming around our fishing lines!"

"I was minding my business, wondering what you guys were catching till something exploded at me," Kaito stated as he comfortably sat on the railing started wringing out his clothes.

"Oh!" Luffy realized something. "_You're_ a carp monster!"

"…What," Usopp and Kaito said in unison.

"You can change into a monster as you swim around the water," Luffy explained.

"Luffy, I'm still a _human_, not a _fish_," Kaito elucidated.

"Still a monster," Luffy beamed with a smile.

"How in the four seas are you _still_ captain of his crew," Kaito mumbled as he straighten out his wet clothing.

"Hey Luffy, when is Sanji going to cook these monsters," Usopp asked as he eyed the large catches.

"Sanji! I got monsters for you to cook," Luffy yelled loudly.

"That answers your question," Kaito remarked then Usopp questioned.

"Going to stick around for food."

"Why not? Free food," Kaito answered with a smirk.

Luffy then faced his attention at the visitor as another idea came to mind. "Can I ride on your monster form?"

"No." Kaito stated in a stern tone.

"Come on! Please~! You're a cool monster!" Luffy clasped his hands together as he got onto his knees and widen his eyes.

Kaito eyeballed the pleading rubber man for couple of moments before letting out a sigh. "Five minutes."

"Yahoo!" Luffy shouted with boyish glee.

* * *

Koinobori-Carp Streamer

Teme-Rude way saying 'you'

Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol-Rubber Rubber Jet Pistol

Midori Boshi: Dakuro Bakuhatsu So-Green Star: Skull Exploding Grass

* * *

A/N: Finally back with another birthday special, which is Luffy's! This takes place in New World as the Straw Hats continue their journey to One Piece. Kaito, one of the pivotal OCs I have talked about on my profile, gets to know Straw Hats which I can't explain now, due to spoilers for future chapters in **The Dragon Chronicles**. I'll address them when I get there! Oh, for the legend that Ace told Luffy, I tried to intertwine what I have researched in relation to Children's Day in regards of the carp-shaped flags.

And again... I apologize for the lack of professional tone and the awkward ending. It's not easy to write when 'life' likes to dump a lot of things on me. Yet I still manage to get this done! Happy birthday, Luffy! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. Plot and OC belongs to Hitoshirezu Ryu.**

* * *

_July 3 - Effort _

* * *

Nami stretched her arms above her head after she sat up on her bed. After feeling refreshed, she heard an archeologist make a morning greeting to her.

"Happy birthday, Nami."

"Thank you, Robin," Nami said with a grin as she realized what day it was.

"You're welcome," Robin answered with her own gentle smile then expressed a thought. "I wonder if a certain cook will be making something extra special today."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Nami responded, knowing the older woman was talking about an 'amiable' blond chef among their nakama.

"I'll head out first," Robin spoke, interrupting the navigator's thoughts as she head out of the girls' room. Nami then answered back.

"All right."

Once the door closed, the navigator turned around to face the bed's head behind her to look for a certain object. She spotted the picture of a smiling Bell-mère having arms around young Nojiko and Nami facing the camera. The orange-hair woman gazed lovingly at the portrait as she thought to herself.

_Bell-mère…. Nojiko… I'm a year older now and I feel very happy, especially to be with my nakama…_

She then randomly noted out loud. "Out of everyone, you would have found Sanji-kun the most perverted, yet the most sweetest gentleman to ever meet, Bell-mère."

Feeling energetic, she proceed to get out of bed and pick out an outfit for the day. Outside of the girls' room, Sanji was holding a tray filled with a plate of heart-shaped pancakes covered with syrup, a pair of sunny-side up eggs and bacon sitting on the side, and a glass of orange juice. He looked over the meal for any imperfections and when he noted there was none, he beamed a proud smile.

_I hope Nami-san will enjoy this delectable breakfast I made just for her!_

He then commented out loud in 'mellorine' mode with heart-shaped eyes.

"Will Nami-swan give a kiss for my hard work!"

He quickly calmed himself, not wanting to delay the delivery of breakfast to the loveable navigator (in his eyes). Right before he could knock with a free hand, a familiar hungry rubber man voiced a request.

"Sanji! I want food!"

The cook looked over his shoulder with a vein bulging in annoyance as he answered. "You'll get your food soon, bastard! Just wait for a few more minutes!"

Luffy then noticed the tray in Sanji's left hand and quickly became excited. "You already have food right there!"

"BAKA," Sanji shouted, "this _isn't_ for _you_! It's for-"

"Food!" Luffy shouted as he used an arm to stretch for the railing and catapult himself to the cook.

Before Sanji could dodge, the captain collided against him causing both males to hit against the door in a hard crash. The tray filled with food slipped out of the cook's hand and clattered to the ground as food scattered on the wooden floor and juice sprayed on all wooden surfaces and the individuals. Distraught by the ruined breakfast, Sanji would have continued gazed on the disseminated sustenance with sadness if it weren't for the rubber man pouting with disappointment.

"Aw… the food got ruined."

The vein of irritation bulged bigger as the cook whisperedin rising fury. "And _whose_ fault was that?"

Luffy immediately sensed the cook's hostile aura that he swiftly got up and ran towards to the other side of Thousand Sunny. "I'm going to wait now!"

"BAKAYAROU," Sanji bellowed as he stood up with 'fire' raging around him like an inferno. "You're _not _getting breakfast!"

"But I'm hungry," Luffy exclaimed as he was no longer seen.

"Just starve!" Sanji appealed to the hiding rubber man. He was going to spew threats till a navigator's voice reached him.

"What was that noise, Sanji-kun?"

The cook quickly turned around to see Nami peeking her head behind a slightly ajar door of the girls' room. He quickly answered as he tried to act casually against the entry, making himself a barrier from the ruined meal on the side.

"Oh, Nami-san! That was… a bird!"

Nami raised an eyebrow skeptically. "A bird?"

"It… collided into the wall after… Luffy chased it around for food," Sanji explained with struggle as he noted to himself.

_What a stupid scenario!_

"I see," Nami accepted then pointed out something. "What's that orange stuff on you?"

"The… cleaning solution," Sanji replied grudgingly.

"Oh!" Nami answered with concern. "You should change clothes before your skin gets infected."

"I will, Nami-san," Sanji reassured with a small smile.

"I'll see you at breakfast," Nami said before closing the door.

"Breakfast…" Sanji murmured as he looked to the left to see the destroyed meal that a certain rubber man ruined. He let out a deep sigh as he started picking up the scraps of food and place them on the unbroken tray.

"Guess Nami-san will have a 'normal' breakfast with everyone else…"

He made sure the shattered dishware were thrown away before taking the tray of fallen food back to the kitchen and prepared the morning meal. Once he made sure his nakama, even the rubber man was fed and everyone was out of the dining room for their usual activities, Sanji went back to work in his kitchen. An hour and a half later, he topped a clover on a seven-layered colored jelly that was in a tall glass cup.

"Surely Nami-san will love this rainbow jelly! This will make up for the breakfast that was ruined by the rubber idiot."

He then fixed up a teapot filled with water to be brewed for a navigator's tea time. He carefully placed the finished snack onto a prepared tray of a teacup before going into the pantry to fill up his stock for sugar. Chopper came into the dining room from his sick bay to ask for a drink that he always get after doing some research on his medical studies.

"Sanji! Can I please have milk?"

The reindeer then stopped at the entrance of the kitchen and realized something. "Huh? Sanji isn't here? Where did he go?"

He then noted. "Oh! He must be in the stock room. I'll get a cup and wait for him to come back."

Chopper was getting ready to get into his human point until he spotted the colorful jelly glistening under the light. His eyes gleamed at the vibrant snack .

"Ah~! Is that a new snack that Sanji just made!"

He went to the location of the delightful food then tiptoed and grabbed the glass with his hooves. He gaped at the jelly with wonder while twirling the glass in a circular motion.

"Eh~! It looks just like the Round Rainbow we saw back at Spa Island!"

He tapped his left hoof against his chin in a contemplating manner. "I wonder if I can eat this…"

He recalled how Sanji would always present new snacks to the female nakama before bringing out more for the males. Thinking there was plentiful of this colorful jelly stocked in the fridge, the reindeer made a decision.

"I think I'll eat it!"

He grabbed the spoon off the tray then scooped up the first layer of jelly and took a bite. He became starry-eyed as the taste spread in his mouth.

"It's so yummy! Sweet like cotton candy~!"

Within seconds, he gobbled every bit of jelly till only the clover was left sitting in the clean, empty glass. He placed the cup near the sink as he commented with delight.

"That was delicious snack that Sanji made!"

Chopper then heard a door opened and turned around to see the cook that returned with a bag of sugar over his shoulder. He greeted the blond-hair man with excitement.

"Oh, Sanji!"

"Hey, Chopper-" Sanji started to say then noticed a tall glass missing from the tray that he dropped the bag of sugar. "What happened to the rainbow jelly?!"

Overwhelmed with guilt, Chopper quickly explained. "I-I saw the jelly on the counter when I was about to get a cup for you to fill milk with! And I couldn't help but eat it and it was very good!"

Though he knew he shouldn't get mad at the innocent reindeer for the naïve action, Sanji couldn't help but slowly fumed at the sight of the empty glass that once held the wonderful vibrant gelatin. A hissing 'whistle' momentarily brought the cook out of rising infuriation, being reminded of the unattended tea kettle that was now bubbling hot liquid over the stove top.

"_Shit_! The tea!"

He frantically glanced for the hot pad, which was sitting by the empty glass that held the dessert before. He was ready to bolt for the needed item till the bag of sugar blocked his path, making him fall face down, hard.

"Sanji!" Chopper yelped with alarm.

"Itai…" The cook mumbled as he raised his head and used a hand to touch the nose that earned the impact. The tea pot continued 'whistling' for attention, pushing the man to get back onto his feet, grab the pad and hop over the sugar blockade to 'rescue' the hot beverage. He was able to swiftly, yet carefully removed the kettle to another part of the stove top that wasn't on for heat. He opened the lid to see the amount of liquid 'saved' which was barely a quarter level.

As Sanji gaped at the little fluid with open jaw expression, Chopper decided to speak up to check on the cook's condition from the small fall earlier.

"Sanji, are you-"

The reindeer became silenced by the cook's hard stare that twirled onto him with anger rolling off like a thick cloud. Chopper quivered with fear as he slowly walked backwards from an advancing Sanji steadily marching towards him. The cook was readying his arms to grab the frightened reindeer to give several hard shakes, when a navigator's voice broke his concentration.

"What are you two doing?"

Both males looked to the direction of the dining room and saw Nami glancing over them with curious wonder. The blond-hair man was stupefied by the woman's presence that he responded with an 'excuse.'

"We're fixing… a rat problem."

"A rat," Nami asked with shock, apprehended at the mention of vermin invading the kitchen.

Chopper sensed that the 'rat' that the cook explained was _him_, which made the reindeer wail as he retreated from the scene. "WUAGH! I'm very sorry!"

Once the reindeer disappeared into his medical haven, Nami blinked at the closed sick bay.

"What's wrong with Chopper?"

"Oh... he tried to help me catch the rat and... he lost the rat that escaped out onto the deck," Sanji explained aversely as he mentally banged his head against the mental wall.

_Stupid, stupid scenario…_

"He shouldn't feel bad. He tried his best," Nami stated then enquired a 'fact' pointed out. "The rat is out on the deck?"

"Yeah…" Sanji answered slowly then Nami expressed an idea.

"Better have Usopp and Luffy find the rat before anyone or the food get infected by it."

"You're right…" Sanji agreed with a mustered small smile as Nami headed towards the exit. The navigator looked over her shoulder when she was by the door.

"I'll tell Franky to make rat traps in case of anymore rats come into the kitchen."

"That sounds good. Thank you, Nami-san," Sanji answered with the small grin as he watched the female finally leave. He ran a hand through his blond locks with frustration.

"I'll able to make more tea but… Nami-san won't able to enjoy the rainbow jelly after her drink… So she won't able to have a 'colorful' tea time…"

Shortly lunch went by for Sanji to work on another item that will make to the navigator before dinner. Two hours later, he sprinkled cocoa on top of the round cream cheese mixture covered with ladyfingers around the brim of the plate. The cook let out a relieved sigh as he put away the tools and cocoa before picking up the finished cold dessert.

"The tiramisu is finally finished for Nami-san! This will be the best birthday gift she receives!"

He was about to put away the sweet into the fridge until Robin came in and addressed him.

"Sanji, can you please help me out with something?"

The cook couldn't help but forget about the dessert as he responded in a twirling 'mellorine' mode.

"It will be my pleasure to assist in any way, Robin-chwan~!"

The archeologist let out a small chortle as she led the loveable cook out of his domain. Moments later, Brook strode in as he announced to himself.

"Ah~! It's time for afternoon tea! How amazing that I drink the hot beverage without burning my tongue and it's because I don't have a tongue! Yohohoho~!"

The musician was setting up the tea cup and teapot he always used on a available tray that he noticed the dessert. He let out a gasp of delight.

"Sanji-san is very kind to make a snack accompanying my tea! I'll deeply show my gratitude by eating this and sharing with anyone that wants to join me for tea!"

Once he brewed his favorite tea, he carried the tray with the readied beverage and tiramisu out of the kitchen to a spot he can enjoy the two delights. Shortly the skeleton was gone, Sanji returned with a blissful smile on his face.

"What a wonderful time of helping Robin-chan and Rei-chan in picking out an outfit for Nami-san~!"

He sighed dreamily as he went to the spot of the dessert needing to be put away, in which he became slightly distrait when he realized the sweet wasn't there anymore.

"What the _hell_?! Where is the tiramisu!"

He scanned all over the kitchen for the coffee-colored cream cheese dessert but saw it wasn't in the domain at all. His mind then vaguely remembered noticing a brown-colored item on the tray that Brook had while sitting at the foremast. He angrily marched out of the kitchen, down the stairs and part of the lawn deck to find not just the musician, but also the shipwright sitting comfortably in front of the foremast, drinking tea and eating the precious dessert he made for the navigator.

"Oh, Sanji-san! This is the most delightful dessert you've made," Brook exclaimed when he noticed the cook standing few feet away.

"It has a super taste!" Franky expressed as he postured his upper torso into his custom 'SUPER Pose.'

Sanji clenched his hands into fists as 'fire' started to emit around him like a crackling spark. "You two... have dirtied the perfect dessert... with your filthy mouths!"

Before Brook and Franky could ask Sanji when he meant, they immediately evaded 'burning' kicks that landed where they sat moments ago. The skeleton and shipwright dodged and duck from every kick aiming for their bodies for critical damage.

"Whoa! Calm down, Sanji!" Franky tried to assure the fiery cook as he eluded his large body from another blow.

"Not until I kick both of you, _shitheads_!" Sanji retorted in a hand stand and twirled his legs circular like a pinwheel.

Brook ducked and gripped his crown with his bony fingers while voicing confusion. "Wait, Sanji-san! Wasn't that dessert for me to share!"

"_NO_! It was for _someone else_!" Sanji bellowed with fury. He landed back onto his right leg and quickly twirled, making the limb lit up on 'fire.' He was ready to perform one of his strongest techniques till a certain navigator questioned him.

"What were you kicking at, Sanji-kun?"

The cook quickly simmered down, making the 'fire' decease as well give Brook and Franky make a quick escape to the bow and hide themselves. Sanji kicked the grass as he gave a response to the awaited curious navigator.

"I was getting rid of... giant flies."

"Giant flies," Nami asked as she tilted her head.

"Yeah… I was trying a new recipe when… I heard loud buzzing coming from the deck and I checked outside to see that… giant flies smelled the dessert's aroma…" Sanji enlightened as he mentally slapped himself, several times.

_What a stupid, stupid, __**stupid**__, scenario!_

"Ah," Nami nodded in understanding, imagining the insect to be one of many strange creatures that inhabited New World. "Even bugs like your wonderful cooking."

"Yeah…" Sanji replied with a reluctant smile.

"Did the dessert get ruined," Nami enquired then Sanji responded a half-truth.

"Two 'flies' unfortunately got the dessert."

"Luffy will eat it then. You know how he eats anything," Nami chortled in reassurance.

Sanji slowly nodded. "He does…"

"I better get going," Nami then said, "I'll see you at dinner."

"Yes, dinner…" Sanji answered as Nami made her way to the girls' room. Once he saw the woman disappear from sight, he pulled out a new cigarette and pulled out his golden lighter to lit his comfort item. He inhaled deeply the nicotine before exhaling the smoke in a deep sigh.

"One more time… I should able to make a birthday gift that _tops_ the last three into smithereens…"

When dinner was over, Sanji focused on his goal to make the ultimate gift for the beloved navigator. It was two and a half hours later when Sanji finished the cream cheese frosting onto the cupcake and topping the small sweet with a piece of peeled orange onto the white covering. He placed the cupcake onto a tier tower filled with cupcakes of same design. He exhaled with deep relief.

"There! A seven dozen cupcake tower surely would make up for the other three ruined birthday gifts!"

He then noted to himself that ribbon would be a nice final touch to the tall dessert. He left the kitchen to find certain female nakama as he believed the finished gift will not be ruined. Two minutes later, Luffy slammed the door of the dining room/kitchen to make his presence known.

"Sanji! I want meat!"

"And sake," Zoro added after following the rubber man into the galley. Luffy then commented in confusion after noticing a blond-hair man wasn't around.

"Eh? Where's Sanji?"

"Probably flirting," Zoro remarked on one of cook's attributes, which made him slightly clenched his jaw at an image of the blond rival being 'mellorine' around a ruby-eye swordswoman.

Luffy's eyes then caught the sight of the towered dessert sitting on the counter top which he exclaimed with excitement.

"Oh~! Cupcakes!"

The young captain scurried to the sweet tower then grabbed one of the cupcakes at the bottom layer. With a full mouth, he expressed ecstasy.

"Git's dewilicious!"

As Luffy started seizing random cupcakes to satisfy his hungry stomach, Zoro was going to look for his favorite drink but became curious of the cupcakes when he noted a small orange on top of teach of them. The swordsman was careful to avoid the scrambling stretchy arms as he managed to get one of the small sweets. He took a bite then remarked somewhat thoughtfully.

"Hnn… this isn't bad."

He finished the sweet and got another one right before Luffy picked up the tier and dumped rest of the cupcakes into his stretched mouth. The rubber man placed his hand over his large filled mouth to digest as Zoro yelled in annoyance.

"Oi, Luffy! Why did you ate the rest of them?!"

Once he swallowed, Luffy gave a 'smart' response. "Sanji doesn't like to waste food, so I was making sure the cupcakes didn't go to waste."

Zoro remembered the cook's belief on food as he noted to himself that he wouldn't able to eat much of the cupcakes anyway. He was about to proceed his task of finishing the sweet till the main cook was heard yelling in astonishment.

"What happened to the cupcakes!"

The swordsman didn't felt guilty for standing in a 'red-handed scene' but he couldn't help in hiding the uneaten cupcake from sight by lower his hand below countertop level. Luffy gave a simple explanation to the returned cook that held a roll of auburn ribbon.

"In eating the cupcakes, we didn't waste any food."

Sanji's hands loosened their hold, letting the ribbing slip out of the grasp and roll onto the floor. He then ranted with pent up rage from today's episodes. "…_Fucking bastards! _I spent _hours_ preparing a _perfect_ dessert then one of you _idiots_ decides to ruin them!"

"…Eating is ruining food," Luffy asked with wonder.

"YES!" Sanji retorted firmly.

"No it's not," Luffy countered then Sanji bellowed fiercely.

"It is by _bakas_ like you!"

For a moment, Zoro thought it would be fun to further provoke the cook by eating the cupcake he still had, but he didn't act upon it. Instead, he walked up to the angry Sanji before revealing the in tact last sweet.

"Here."

Sanji choked on his surprise as he gaped at the cupcake sitting in the palm of the swordsman's hand. "What…"

"I was going to eat it, but I see it was part of something important," Zoro clarified as he did sensed the cook was trying to fulfill a personal mission. When he saw the blond-haired rival wasn't making a motion to grab, he had to use his free hand to grab Sanji's left hand then placed the sweet onto the open palm. The cook stared at the small dessert as Zoro and Luffy proceed to leave. Before going out, Zoro made a suggestion.

"Put saké in them next time."

Zoro then left and Luffy expressed a similar comment.

"Make meat cupcakes!"

Sanji then swiveled around to shout at the closed door. "Make your _own _cupcakes, _shitty bastards_!"

Seeing he won't get a reply, he slowly walked towards the kitchen then leaned his upper body onto the counter. He hid his saddened expression behind his right arm as the left arm still held the cupcake in the air.

"Every gift ruined... by idiots... And this one, _measly _cupcake is the only thing that survived at the end..."

Before he could continue wallowing in self misery of not able to present a wonderful gift to his favorite navigator, he then heard the woman's voice filled with concern.

"Sanji-kun, is there something wrong?"

The cook peeked an eye to see Nami was looking downwards at him with gentleness. Tired of his earlier 'excuses', he decided to respond with some truth as he slowly stood up and placed the sweet on the counter, while refusing to look at the navigator face-to-face due to shame.

"Yes. Out of the _four_ gifts I tried to make for your birthday, this lone cupcake… is the only thing that lasted out of the catastrophes."

Nami was about to question what the cook meant when her eyes then landed upon the small sweet that the male mentioned. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp, which Sanji cringed, expecting the woman's disgust.

"It's so cute!"

Sanji blinked. He braced himself for revulsion of messing up, but the cheerful remark caught him off guard. His blue eyes noticed the navigator's hands gently grabbing the cupcake and being observed by the female's brown gaze. In seeing her favorite fruit on top the white frosting, Nami commented with excitement.

"You put a mikan on it!"

Sanji numbly nodded as Nami twirled the cupcake in her grasp like a child excitedly chasing down a butterfly. Nami then peeled part of the paper off and took a bite of the sweet itself. Her eyes widen with awe.

"And it tastes like mikan!"

Sanji was going to reply but kept silent when the navigator decided to show her gratitude. Nami leaned over to Sanji's right side and place a peck onto the cook's cheek. Sanji was stilled in his spot as Nami decide to head her way to the exit. Before leaving, she glanced over her shoulder with the remained genuine smile.

"Thank you for this wonderful gift, Sanji-kun."

The navigator then left the stupefied cook alone in the dimmed kitchen. Sanji slowly raised a hand to place over the warm touch that remained on his cheek. After realizing that all his work wasn't in vain, he exclaimed excitedly with heart-shaped eyes.

"I got a kiss from Nami-swan~!"

In the late evening of the noisily, yet sleeping Straw Hat males in their designated room, Sanji sat up in his bed when he realized something.

"The Kuso Marimo… actually _helped_ make my night with Nami-san…"

He knew that the swordsman could very thoughtful, but he never thought there would be a day that he would be helped _by_ the man himself. After contemplating over Zoro's 'kindness,' his hearing caught the man himself mumbling in sleep talk.

"Make saké cupcakes, Rasen Mayu…"

"Che," Sanji grunted with amusement then he made a decision as he laid back down to sleep. "Sure, why not."

He decided that the swordsman rival deserved an award, for once.

* * *

Baka-Idiot

Bakayarou-Dumb/Stupid Bastard

Itai-Ouch

Mikan-Tangerine or Orange

Rasen Mayu-Spiral Brow

Kuso Marimo-Shitty Marimo

* * *

A/N: Another birthday special and it's Nami's birthday! As many might have guessed from reading this, there was Sanji/Nami fluff. I want to hint that the main story, **The Dragon Chronicles** will have a lot of Sanji/Nami fluff in later chapters when the relationship is established. I know that Luffy/Nami is the most popular pairing, but there are many reasons why Sanji/Nami work. One reason is 98.72% of Sanji's recruitment to the Straw Hats is because of Nami. ;) The main story will address the other reasons for Sanji/Nami pairing, which I hope you'll enjoy.

And again, I repeat another apology for another unprofessional tone chapter but at least the ending isn't awkward, thanks to Volleys-chan, who is still in the process of editing of Sabo's and Luffy's birthdays. Anyway, happy birthday, Nami!


End file.
